What Makes Us Strong
by penny1200
Summary: Puck comes home for the first time since summer for Thanksgiving during his sophomore year of college and learns something that changes his life. This is both a futurefic and Puckleberry.
1. Prologue

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: I'm starting a brand new story! Yay! This chapter is definitely a hard M, but future chapters will be rated mostly for Puck's mouth (at least for a while). Also, I totally wasn't sure what to call it, so if the title seems off or something, that's why. Please read this and let me know what you think! Thanks!

The music was thumping in the crowded house. There was a crush of bodies in the living room and Rachel found the crowd extremely uncomfortable. She had taken a seat off to the side with Tina and Artie, neither of whom were too big on the crowd either. It was the end of August, so it was hot and sticky and not even the air conditioning was helping thanks to the sheer amount of people in the house and the way they kept running in and out of it.

"Guys, I think I'm just going to head home," Rachel yelled over the music. "I'm not having much fun."

Artie nodded and Tina leaned in to speak into her ear. "Have fun at Juilliard! You leave tomorrow, right?"

Rachel pulled back so that she could see Tina and bobbed her head, a wide smile on her face. She was all set to drive up to Juilliard for her freshman year tomorrow and she was very excited. She wasn't the only one leaving for school tomorrow either; in fact that's what this party was for. Mike had decided to throw one final blowout for all of his friends. Of course, as parties tend to do, what had started out as just the jocks from his various teams and the glee kids had turned into half their graduating class plus several of Mike's friends who had graduated the previous year. It was a very good thing that he lived out in the country where no one would call the cops on them.

Rachel stood up and waved at her two friends before turning to the crowd. Taking a deep breath, she cut through the throng of people that stretched from one wall to the other, blocking her from leaving. As she put her elbows out to keep everyone from running her down, an overenthusiastic dancer hit her in the back, knocking her painfully into the back of the guy in front of her. She bounced off of him and would have fallen backward, but the guy she had bounced off of turned around and caught her by the shoulders. When she met a familiar pair of hazel eyes, she gasped.

"Noah!" she yelled. She hadn't seen him since Hanukkah services.

He smirked and mouthed, "Hey Berry."

She couldn't hear him because of the music, but she was able to read his lips (it was just one of the many areas that she was skilled in). Puck had graduated and spent the last year at Ohio State in Columbus, so, except for at temple for Hanukkah, she hadn't seen him since he graduated (she had attended for Finn, who she was dating at the time). He looked really good too; much better than she remembered, in fact. His green T-shirt clung to his muscles in just the right way and his black jeans hugged his thighs. He had also let his dark hair grow out so that it was no longer in that ridiculous mohawk that he wore all through high school (she hadn't noticed that at Hanukkah). She was so absorbed in studying him that she jumped when warmth brushed over her ear.

"Keep looking at me like that and I might think you want to cheat on Finn," he breathed out.

"We broke up at graduation," she responded back.

She and Finn had dated for most of her junior year (his senior) and all of her senior year. It was easy because he was going to school at the junior college in town, but he had been accepted at the University of Illinois for the upcoming year and with her heading to Juilliard, they had decided that it was smartest to break up.

"Shit, Berry, you're single?" Puck asked, his head still right next to hers.

She felt a rush of warmth through her body at the tone of his voice. She knew that tone; he was about to proposition her and she had a feeling he wouldn't just be joking the way he had all junior year. She also had a feeling she knew what her answer would be. She knew that she wouldn't have much free time once she got to school so that would probably mean a non-existent social life. Plus, if she had to be honest, she had always been curious if Noah was as good as the rumors claimed.

"I am definitely single."

He pulled his head back to look at her. He searched her face for several moments before his eyes heated and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her through the crowd. When they broke through into an open spot near the front door, Noah came to a stop and yanked her up against his chest. He let go of her wrist and pressed one hand to her lower back and cupped the back of her head with the other. She knew that if she was going to back out, she needed to do it now. Her body was so hot that she knew she wouldn't though.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and met him halfway. The instant her lips touched his, she felt a spark flare in her stomach and she knew there was no going back tonight. When he ran his tongue over her lips, she opened her mouth to him. As he slanted his mouth over hers to deepen the kiss further and pressed her closer to him with the hand on her lower back, Rachel could feel that he was already stiff against her stomach. That rock hard length sent a rush of wetness between her thighs.

He pulled back. "Fuck, Berry, we're going upstairs."

When he started to pull her toward the nearby stairs, she dug her heels into the carpet jerking him to a halt. He turned to gaze at her questioningly.

"I am not having sex with you in Mike's house," she shouted over the music.

Puck frowned at her and she thought that he looked almost disappointed.

She gave him an innocent smile. "My dads are out of town."

When he yelled, "Fuck yeah!" so loudly that she heard him clear as day and led her to the front door, she giggled. She was suddenly very glad that she had come to Mike's party.

ooooo

As Puck followed Berry to her house, he was fucking glad that he had stopped by Mike's party. He wasn't sure he'd see anyone that he actually wanted to see, but Mike was still one of his dudes, so he had decided to see the guy before Mike headed off to Texas for school tomorrow. Plus he had figured that he could get laid because he knew that some of the girls in Mike's class would be there. He never would have guessed that he'd be fucking Berry before the night was out though. She didn't seem like the one night stand type. But, who was he to argue? He knew that she sure as hell knew that one night was all he was interested in. It would be a night to fucking remember though.

She looked a lot like she had the last time he saw her at temple over winter break; she definitely hadn't changed much. She had always been fucking hot though and he had known junior year after they dated for a week that if he ever had the chance to screw her he would. She had those long, tanned legs that he couldn't wait to have wrapped around him and perky breasts that would probably fit perfectly in the palms of his hands. He also bet that she was fucking flexible because she was a dancer. Tonight was going to be fucking awesome.

ooooo

As she unlocked the door and let herself and Puck into her house she couldn't believe that she was doing this. She had only had sex with one guy (Finn of course) and that was only after they had dated for six months. She was relocking the door when Puck spoke.

"You're not drunk, are you Berry?"

She shook her head. "I only had water at the party; I'm not interested in drinking alcohol until it's legal for me to do so. Have you been drinking?"

He let out a bark of laugh. "Hell no. I stopped after I got busted for it when my roommate got pulled over and charged for DUI."

She smiled up at him. "Good. So we're both in our right minds then."

"Yep." He swooped down on her and threw her over his shoulder.

She let out an indignant shriek and beat on his back with her fists. "Put me down you Neanderthal!"

"Nope." He popped the P as he carried her up the stairs to her room. She was still beating on him when he threw her in the middle of her bed.

She glared up at him. "You are so asking for me to send you home right now."

He smirked and, after removing both of their shoes, climbed onto the bed so that he was hovering over her. "I think I can change your mind."

When he dropped his lips to hers again, she immediately forgot her indignation. He just felt too good. He didn't waste any time tugging at the hem of her shirt either. They broke contact so he could pull it over her head before raining kisses down her jaw and neck, palming first one breast and then the other.

"You're so fucking hot Berry," he groaned out as she slid her hands up his back under his shirt.

He somehow got her bra off of her and sucked one nipple into his mouth, pinching and tugging on the other lightly. She moaned as fire raced to her core with every pull.

"Oh, God, Noah. I can feel it every time you do that."

She felt him smirk against her before he switched breasts and bit down gently on her other nipple. She arched into his mouth and pulled frantically at his shirt. He moved back just enough to let her pull it off of him before he began to lick and nibble his way down her stomach. She jumped when he ran a hand under her skirt and over her center on top of her panties.

"Your panties are fucking soaked Berry," he muttered, sliding his finger under them to circle her clit. "I could fuck you right now but I want to know what you taste like." He met her eyes when he said that and Rachel felt a shiver run down her body. She had never had anyone go down on her; Finn had said it was gross when she'd mentioned that she wanted to try it.

This must have shown on her face because the smile Puck gave her was positively devious. "No one has ever tasted you like I'm going to, have they?"

She couldn't do anything more than shake her head. He was still circling his finger over her clit; he ceased the motion briefly to remove her panties before he lifted her skirt up around her hips and held them down. She startled when his tongue touched her sensitive nerves and took up the motion that his finger had previously made. She wanted to arch her hips up into him but she couldn't because of the tight hold he had on them. So she settled for cupping one hand over his head and twisting her blanket in the other instead. This felt so much better than she had imagined it would.

When he pushed first one and then two fingers into her, she let out a loud cry. He was curling them up against her front wall and he had found her g-spot as if he already knew right where it was on her. He started to rub slow circles over the spot, his tongue still flicking at her relentlessly and she could feel her muscles tensing up. When the tension in her broke under his ministrations, her back bowed off the bed and she let out a long, high-pitched moan.

He moved back up her and kissed her while she recovered. When she had, she shoved him over so that he was sitting against the head board. She made quick work of his jeans (and snickered a little when she saw that he wasn't wearing any underwear), freeing him into her palm. She ran her hand over the head, gathering the liquid there, and then, gripping him in her fist, stroked him in a smooth motion until he moaned. Getting a sound out of him like that filled her with a heady rush of power. She locked her eyes with his (they were so green now) and lowered her head to lick the underside of his cock from the base to the head. She ran her tongue over the slit, before slowly taking nearly all of him in.

While she sucked and ran her tongue along his length, she continued to move her hand along the base of him that she hadn't taken in and massaged his balls with the other hand. He let out a groan and when his head fell back against the head board with a thud, she knew it was time to show him her true skill. She took her hand off the base of his cock and pulled his length all the way in until he slid down the back of her throat. Then she swallowed.

He jolted up, nearly choking her so that tears came to her eyes and she pulled back some, glaring up at him.

"Shit, sorry, Berry. But I wasn't fucking expecting that," he rasped out, threading his fingers through her hair.

She rolled her eyes at him and repeated the motion. This time when she swallowed, he held still, merely moaning out his satisfaction. When she did it a third time, he yanked her off of him by her hair.

"I'm going to be buried inside you when I fucking come," he explained roughly, unzipping her skirt and pulling it down over her hips.

She lifted her knees to get the skirt off of her and squirmed uncomfortably; she felt so empty.

When he gripped her waist and urged her onto her hands and knees, she felt a rush of liquid to her core. She had always wanted to try a position other than missionary (Finn wasn't very adventurous). Puck urged her legs further apart before positioning himself behind her. She could feel him pressed against her opening and she moved her hips back so that he slid in slightly.

"Shit, Berry, you're going to kill me aren't you?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "If you don't fuck me soon, then yeah, I will."

He let out a groan and swiftly drove home inside of her. Grasping her hips, he set up a smooth but fast pace. He was talking to himself and his every word drove her closer to the edge.

"So fucking wet...tight...hot," he ground out.

When he moved one hand from her hip and pushed on her back between her shoulder blades so that her arms collapsed beneath her and her head was pressed to the bed, she let out a loud moan. The angle had changed and he was driving into her deeper than before, rubbing against her g-spot with every stroke as he curled his body over hers. He moved one hand to stroke her clit as his hips started to lose their rhythm and she knew that he was close.

"Fuck Berry; fucking cum," he breathed into her ear.

The words were all she needed and she used her excellent lung capacity to scream his name. He called her name with a hoarse cry as he spilled within her.

When he pulled out of her to lie on the bed, she collapsed on her stomach. That had been the hottest sex she'd ever had.

"That was just what I needed to ease the tension of heading to school tomorrow," she sighed, turning her head to face him.

He smirked over at her. "You have the fucking house to yourself tonight Berry. If you think I'm done with you, you're fucking stupid." He reached over and stroked her hair back from her eyes. "I am going to make you scream until you lose your fucking voice."

Rachel felt a thrill of anticipation. She was really, really glad that she had gone to Mike's party.

ooooo

When Rachel woke up the next day, she was alone. She had fallen asleep next to Noah, but he had clearly taken off at some point during the early morning. It didn't matter that much though; she had known it would be just one night going into it. _And what a night it had been_, she thought with a satiated smile.

A/N 2: I know that it's short, but it is just the prologue.


	2. Chapter 1

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Wow, the prologue for this story got an amazing response; I'm so excited about this idea and I really hope that I don't let you guys down. After the steaminess of the prologue, the heat will die down for a while starting here (why should be very clear once you finish reading this chapter). Also, there is a flashback in the middle of the chapter. It is separated from the rest of the story by asterisks, in italics, and headed by the date on which the event in question occurred. Flashbacks will occur for the first few chapters of the story (please see the A/N 2 at the end of the story for further explanation), so both present and flashback sections will be headed by the dates on which they occur to help avoid any confusion. Please read this chapter and let me know what you think (especially since I've never included actual honest-to-goodness flashbacks before)! Thanks!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

"Yo, Puckerman, you're headed home for Thanksgiving this year, right?" Aiden Demyrno yelled, throwing his hardback Spanish book at Puck from his spot on his bed in their dorm room.

Puck ducked the book. "Dude, watch it! That would've fucking hurt." He bent and picked the book back up, tossing it onto Aiden's bed. "And, no, I'm just packing for the fun of it," he added sarcastically.

"No need to get pissy." Aiden flipped a page in the book he was reading. "Just checking that I'll have the room to myself all week; Callie's staying at school you know."

Puck paused in stuffing his jeans into his duffel bag and looked over at his roommate. "You gonna fucking man up and screw her finally?"

Aiden cast him a disdainful look before turning back to his book. "How do you know we haven't already?"

Letting out a laugh, Puck answered, "You would have fucking told me. You've been hanging around her since we got back and you still haven't fucked her. If you haven't by the time I come back next weekend, I am officially revoking your balls because you don't deserve to be a fucking man."

Aiden didn't even lift his head, just flipped him off, making Puck laugh again. He had lucked out with his roommate; he had expected to get stuck with some dork, but when he and Aiden had met at the beginning of last year, they'd gotten along pretty well. Last year had been fucking awesome while they worked their way through the sororities. They hadn't talked over the summer, but Demyrno had turned into a pussy when they got back to school and he met Callie, one of the freshmen in his calculus class. While Aiden followed the girl around like a fucking puppy, Puck had been on his own, conquering the rest of the freshmen pussy.

"So, you gonna see the crazy stalker while you're at home?" his roommate asked, looking over at Puck curiously.

Puck snorted. "Not if I can fucking help it. It sucks that she turned out to be even more of a whack job than I expected; she was fucking awesome in bed."

Puck had planned to fuck Berry again while he was home for Thanksgiving and again next month over winter break, but then she had gone completely psycho on him. They had fucked a few months ago after Mike's party and it was the hottest sex he'd ever had. She had let him screw her three times before she fell asleep; he had snuck out immediately after and drove home. He passed out, fully dressed, as soon as he hit his bed. It was the first time a girl had ever worn him out.

He had headed for school a couple of days later knowing that he was going to hit her up for a replay the next time he came home. The best part was that she hadn't contacted him even once for a full month and a half after. It was fucking brilliant; he'd gotten the hot as fuck sex without any of the hassles he always had to put up with from the girls at school.

Then, in early October, she had called him. Not once, not twice, but at least ten times a day. Her message was always the same, asking him to call her back. The messages sounded progressively desperate over the next two weeks. A week after Berry's first message, Brittany had started e-mailing him, telling him to call Berry. That had thrown him off because Britt had stayed in Lima to attend the junior college while Berry was at Juilliard and the two of them weren't exactly friends; they never had been. He'd kept in touch with Brittany, so he was pretty sure he would have known if she and Berry were friends because she talked about everything even if he didn't fucking care. Puck had no idea why Brittany was helping Berry stalk him, but he wasn't fucking calling Berry back just to get some big lecture about how she didn't do casual sex so she expected some sort of commitment out of him (just the thought of being tied exclusively to _anyone_ sent chills down his spine) or about how rude he was to take off while she was sleeping. Because he couldn't think of any other reason she'd act like that.

The final straw had come when Berry showed up at his dorm while he was studying one Monday night just over two weeks after the first message. She had knocked on the door and he had recognized her through the peephole. She had looked psychotic, her eyes red and wild, her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail, and she was in fucking jeans (he didn't think she even owned a pair of jeans). No way in hell was he going to open up his door and let the crazy in, so he had pretended he wasn't home. He kept checking outside, watching for her to leave, but when she was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall across from his door, an hour later, he had called security to have her escorted off campus. He had heard her arguing with the guards that hauled her off. He figured that after that incident, she figured out that he wasn't interested in talking to her because the calls had stopped. He had gotten one final e-mail from Brittany with the single sentence that he had just screwed up in a very big way, and then he hadn't heard from her again either.

That was nearly a month ago and he was mostly glad that Berry was out of his life completely now, but he did still occasionally wonder what Brittany had meant with that last e-mail. In those rare milliseconds of weakness, he wondered if Berry had needed something more than just to lecture him, but those moments quickly passed as soon as another hot piece of ass walked by. Who needed a psychotic midget stalking them when they had co-eds all around?

"Dude, make sure you pack a box of damn condoms," Aiden ordered him while Puck finished sticking his bathroom stuff in his bag. "You don't want another scare like you had with that Sullivan chick."

Puck really didn't need that reminder; he already had a box buried under the rest of his clothes. That had been the scariest fucking week of his life while they waited until she could take the test.

"That wasn't my fucking fault; the damn condom broke," he reminded his roommate.

He had learned his fucking lesson with Quinn. He paused momentarily as he zipped up his duffel bag. _Had he wrapped up with Berry? Shit, he couldn't fucking remember_; the whole night was a haze of awesomeness. Surely he had though; he hadn't gone bareback once that he could remember since Quinn. Reassured, he finished zipping up his bag.

Puck pulled on his shoes and threw the handle of the bag over his shoulder. "I'm out." He paused with his hand on the door knob. "And remember, if you don't fuck Callie before I get back, I'm removing your fucking balls because you're obviously not using them."

He left the room while Aiden cursed. Two seconds later he smirked when he heard something heavy hit the door.

ooooo

When Rachel's alarm clock went off, she groaned and, without opening her eyes, reached for it. She slammed her hand down on the nightstand repeatedly until she finally found the radio and then searched out the snooze button. When she hit it the room went blissfully silent again.

She rolled over onto her side and pillowed her hands under her head. She so didn't want to get up today; she was exhausted. She had worked until nine last night and it was only six-thirty now. She had to be into the diner by eight to start today's shift. She knew that she needed all the hours she could get, but that didn't mean she wasn't exhausted. She let herself nod off.

Ten minutes later, her alarm sounded again and when she shut it off this time, she actually got out of bed. She grabbed her clothing and dragged herself into the bathroom at the end of the hallway. She set the water to a slightly chilly temperature and stood under the stream. She hoped the cool water would wake her up because she needed to be alert when she went in. Saturday was always the busiest day of the week.

She hopped out of the shower and toweled off. As soon as she was dry, she pulled on her knee length black skirt and frowned when she had a hard time getting the zipper up. It must be a smaller size than the other skirt that she normally wore. She yanked the white shirt down over her head and let out an annoyed shriek when it clung to her stomach so tightly that it nearly rode up. She wished she could wash her other work outfit before she had to go in, but there just wasn't enough time. She figured she'd have to shop for larger clothes; the diner dress code required a white shirt and black skirt but management didn't pay for the clothing.

Once she was dressed, she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked every bit as tired as she felt. Her eyes were glassy and she had dark circles under them. Sighing, she began to apply her makeup to hide the shadows and make herself look at least a little perkier than she felt. While she went through her normal morning routine, her mind drifted.

*****

_October 4, 2012_

Rachel woke with a start as someone elbowed her. Looking around, she realized that she had fallen asleep during her humanities class again. Her neighbor and new friend Bella had clearly woken her up just as she had done the past two humanities classes. Rachel fought to stay awake for the rest of it and as soon as they were dismissed, she gathered her things and fled the classroom. She was free for the rest of the day, so she was going back to her room to sleep. She was just always so tired.

"Rachel, wait up!"

She came to a stop and turned around to wait for Bella to catch up to her. When the taller girl caught her, Rachel started walking toward the residence hall again, Bella following.

"You fell asleep during class again," her friend pointed out.

Rachel sighed. "I know. I've been getting the same amount of sleep that I always have, but it just doesn't feel like it. I must just be really stressed. I am still getting used to being away from home."

Bella narrowed her eyes. "Rachel, I think there's more to it than that. In addition to falling asleep in class, you're always throwing up. Just this morning, I met you for breakfast and the instant you smelled the syrup, you darted to the bathroom."

Rachel felt her stomach churn at the thought of the syrup and covered her mouth. Once the nausea had passed, she dropped her hand back down.

"And you started crying yesterday when the cafeteria was out of lemonade." Bella shook her head. "That's not a normal response, Rachel."

"I'm just feeling a little homesick is all. I haven't seen my dads since the week before I left home you know," Rachel defended herself. It didn't really work as a defense though because her dads checked in everyday to make sure that she was performing at the top of her year.

Bella pulled her to a stop and Rachel crossed her arms over her chest, glaring up at her.

"What?" she asked petulantly. Bella was really starting to get on her last nerve.

"I think you might be pregnant Rach. You're acting just like my sister did during her first trimester," the redhead informed her.

Rachel automatically shook her head even as she mentally began to panic. Could she be pregnant? She tried to remember her last period. Oh, God, she couldn't remember it but she knew she hadn't had one in September. And she couldn't remember if Noah had used anything that night. As the realization that she could, in fact, be pregnant hit her fully, she felt the color drain from her face.

"Oh, Rachel," Bella sighed. "Come on, let's go buy you a test. If you are pregnant, you need to know ASAP so you can decide what to do about it."

Rachel was so out of it that she let Bella steer her off campus to a nearby drug store. Rachel picked out one of the digital tests that would actually say 'pregnant' or 'not pregnant' and then she and Bella returned to the residence hall. When they reached Rachel's suite, she was very glad that her roommates were all still out for the day. While she went inside one of the bathrooms and used both of the tests in the box, Bella waited outside for her. Once the tests were taken, she set them on the counter and checked the little display screen. There was an hourglass running on both of them, so she knew they were working. She washed her hands and took the instructions back out to Bella.

"How long until you know?" Bella asked anxiously.

Rachel reread the instructions. "It says it should be ready in three minutes."

Bella checked her watch to time the tests. Finally, after the longest three minutes in Rachel's life, Bella nodded at her. Rachel paused in the doorway.

"I can't Bella," she squeaked out, backing hastily away from the bathroom. "What if it's positive? My whole life will change."

"It won't be so bad Rach," the other girl soothed her.

Rachel shook her head vigorously. "You don't understand. My dads..."

Bella cut her off. "You don't even know that you're pregnant; you need to check the tests and find out before you start worrying."

Rachel just backed further away in panic. "I can't. Could...could you do it for me first?"

Bella let out a long sigh but entered the bathroom anyway. There was silence for a moment then Bella said, "Rachel..."

Trembling, Rachel entered the bathroom and stepped up next to where Bella was standing in front of the counter. She looked down at the tests and there, repeated twice, was the one word that terrified her.

Pregnant.  


Rachel sighed as she finished pulling her hair up into a neat ponytail. That day was the day her world as she knew it had begun to fall apart (it would shatter even further over the next month) and she'd been picking up the pieces ever since. Her hair and makeup finished, she checked herself out in the mirror. The shadows were barely even noticeable thanks to her concealer but that didn't help with the exhaustion that was clearly visible in her eyes. She knew this was as good as it was going to get though, so she stepped out of the bathroom, flipping the light switch off, and made her way to the kitchen. At least she would get off at four and she didn't have to go in tomorrow until ten.

When she entered the kitchen, the first thing she noticed was that Katy Perry's 'Fingerprints' was playing. The second thing she noticed was that Brittany was singing along and dancing to the music in her pajamas while she buttered toast. Rachel shook her head, a smile on her face, while she pulled the orange juice out of the fridge.

While Rachel poured herself a glass of juice, Brittany turned the music down and crossed to the fridge for the preserves. Rachel rolled her eyes; Brittany was so bad at remembering to get everything out of the fridge the first time. She leaned against the counter and sipped her juice while she watched Brittany start to plop strawberry preserves onto the freshly buttered toast. Brittany glanced over at her.

"You need to buy bigger clothes Rachel. I thought your uniform still fit," she asked, eyeing Rachel's stomach.

Rachel rolled her eyes again. "My other uniform does; this is just my backup uniform and it's smaller than the other one."

"You should still buy a bigger backup uniform," the blonde declared, setting the plate of toast, Rachel's prenatal vitamin included, on their tiny table. "Now eat."

"I'm not really hungry right now," Rachel admitted, picking up the vitamin. "I think I'll just grab something on my break."

Brittany propped her hands on her hips. "I don't think so. You sit down right now and eat that toast."

She looked so scary that Rachel knew better than to argue. Checking the time, she popped the vitamin into her mouth, swallowed it with some of her orange juice, and dropped into the chair in front of the toast.

"You have fifteen minutes before you have to be at the diner and it only takes you five minutes to walk there," Brittany reminded her, spreading preserves over her own toast before sitting down across from Rachel.

Rachel swallowed her bite. "So what are you up to today? Do you have to work?"

Brittany grimaced. "Yeah. I pulled the ten to six for both today and tomorrow, so you'll beat me home." Brittany was a swing manager at the local McDonald's and she hated it. "I think I'm going to clean a little before work though, and I'll do laundry when I get home, so you should take it easy after you get off. You've been putting in so many hours at work that I know you must be really tired."

Rachel smiled at her. "I'm fine Britt. I think I'll stop and pick up a bigger shirt and skirt for work before I come home though."

"When's your next checkup?" Brittany questioned, stealing some of Rachel's juice because she had forgotten to get her own.

"It's a week from Tuesday because I'll be sixteen weeks next Saturday," Rachel answered with an excited grin. "They're going to do an ultrasound; the doctor thinks she'll be able to tell if the baby's a boy or a girl."

Brittany squealed. "I'm going to see if I can get someone to cover for me so I can come to that appointment. You should have a friend with you when you find out."

Rachel just nodded. She was so lucky to have Brittany in her life.

While Rachel ate, Brittany talked about her art appreciation class that she was taking. Rachel felt a pang of envy; she really missed Juilliard.

Once she had finished eating, she waved at Britt, who had turned the music back up so that she could do the dishes. Brittany waved back, slinging soap suds onto the floor, and Rachel left the apartment. She didn't want to be late for work.

ooooo

Puck rolled into Lima around one that afternoon. He was fucking starving-he hadn't eaten since breakfast around ten-so he decided to stop at Barb's Diner. They made the best burgers in town; in fact, it was one of the only things that he missed about Lima when he was in Columbus. He just hadn't found anywhere that made a burger half as good. Barb's was the kind of small local place that visitors to town rarely ever stopped at but it was really fucking popular with the people from town because of the food. She also usually employed hot and flirty waitresses, so maybe he'd find someone to replace Berry in his plans for the week since she'd gone crazy.

He pulled into the parking lot and saw that the place was fucking busy; he couldn't find a spot to park. He finally had to pull into the parking lot of the dry cleaner's next door just to find a place to park. He hoped that he could find a seat without having to wait forever. When he pushed open the door to the cafe, the same bell that had hung there since he was tiny and his dad would bring him to the diner for burgers after Little League games rang out. The waiter standing at the nearest booth smiled and nodded in greeting before turning back to his customers. Puck nodded back and scanned for a seat; all of the booths and tables were full, but he could see an open barstool at the far end of the counter, right next to the little gate the employees used. He headed for it and sat down.

The place was really noisy since so many of the customers had kids with them, and he could hear yelling coming from the back. He turned to check out the waitress that was taking an order behind him. She had to be at least sixty and even that was a little too old for him. _Oh well, at least he still had the burger_, he thought with a sigh.

"What can I get for you?" someone asked.

_Fuck!_ He knew that voice, but what in the hell was she doing here? He turned back to the counter to face his crazy midget stalker (maybe that was unfair; she _had _stopped stalking him almost a full month ago).

"Hey Berry," he greeted her easily. She was kind of funny looking, standing there, because she was so short that the counter came up nearly to her chest.

He watched as the bright smile on her face disappeared instantly.

"Noah," she said coldly. "What do you want?"

He smirked at her, but internally he wondered what in the hell was going on with her. She had never greeted him with anything less than a smile. "I'll just take a cheeseburger and fries. Oh, and bring me a coke too."

While she turned to place his order, he took another glance around the room to see if any new waitresses had revealed themselves yet. He turned back around at the same time that Berry set his coke down on the counter.

"Do I have to worry that you drugged my drink?" he asked, with another smirk.

The look she gave him was icy. "I have more moral fiber than some people."

He scowled at that. "I may have screwed a lot of girls, but I sure as hell never drugged any of them. They all wanted it just like you did."

He saw a flash of something odd in her eyes (_was that regret?_) before she closed them. When she reopened her eyes, they were void of all emotion.

"We all do stupid things," she stated in a flat voice before heading down the counter to one of the other customers.

_What the fuck was her problem?_ She was acting like their night together was the worst fucking thing that had ever happened to her. Sure, he had his regrets about the whole thing but that was only because she had acted like a fucking lunatic for two weeks. She didn't have any reason to fucking resent him for it; he knew that she had wanted it as badly as he did. He watched as she smiled widely at a little boy sitting on one of the barstools when she set some ice cream in front of him. The boy's mom asked her a question and he could swear her eyes shifted in his direction as her smile slipped before she shook her head at the woman and then said something, her bright smile back in place. With the way the woman kept talking to her, he wondered how long Berry had been working here. _Wasn't she supposed to be at Juilliard?_

The bell over the door rang and Puck heard his name. He spun around to see one of the Cheerios that he had nailed during high school (_what the hell was her name again?_) waving at him. He nodded back at her before turning back around to face the counter; he didn't want to get dragged into a conversation with the unnamed ex-Cheerio. He had turned back around just in time too because Berry was setting his order in front of him. He took a large bite of the burger and moaned in pleasure. As Berry started to move back down the counter, he spoke around the food.

"Ut er oo ooing ere erry?"

Berry faced him with a revolted expression on her face. "Pardon me?"

He swallowed. "I said, what are you doing here Berry? I thought you were off at Juilliard becoming a star," he smirked over the last word.

He saw the flash of fury (and it was scary as _hell_) before she went frosty again. "That's none of your business."

When she tried to move away again, he called her back (he didn't know why he couldn't just let her get back to work, but it was bugging the shit out of him that she had suddenly turned into an ice queen when the last time he'd been face to face with her she'd screamed his name until she was hoarse).

"Oh, come on Berry, what happened? Did you get to Juilliard and give up when you learned that you weren't the best?" Again, he couldn't say why he was goading her; he just couldn't resist.

Clearly that was the wrong thing to say because she glared at him so fiercely that the only thing that stopped him from literally cowering was the fact that he is a badass and badasses don't get scared of a girl they can sling over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He couldn't figure out why in the hell she looked like she wanted nothing more than for him to just burst into flames right there. He took a drink to keep from making things worse; with her psychotic stalker personality, he was probably already in for a boiled bunny.

"Hey, Rach." The waiter that had nodded to Puck when he entered passed through the gate next to him to go behind the counter. "I'm going on break. Can you cover my tables for me?"

She turned a smile on him. "Sure Brent."

Puck watched as the other guy smiled at Berry. The he asked something that confused Puck.

"Are you doing okay today Berry?"

Her smile turned nervous as she answered, "I'm fine. Go on break; I've got your tables."

The waiter patted her on the shoulder as he passed into the kitchen.

When Berry ignored him completely, Puck felt a surge of annoyance. Girls didn't ignore him. Ever. As Berry passed through the gate next to him to head to one of the tables, he turned on his stool to tell her that she was acting like a fucking bitch. He never said it though.

He couldn't take his eyes off the small bump of her stomach that her tight white shirt clung to.

_Fuck._

A/N 2: So, I'm sure everyone has a lot of questions about how Rachel got to where she is now. I will answer them all in time. While Puck did nothing very important to the plot over the time that passed between the prologue and now (seriously I covered everything that he did when he reflected on things while he packed-basically lots of sex and one pregnancy scare), there will be several more flashbacks to the important things that happened to Rachel over that same period of time since they have everything to do with the plot. These flashbacks should answer all of your questions. In addition, I have never been pregnant, so I am using WebMD (including how they measure the weeks-I seriously created a pregnancy calendar on the site just to help me keep track of things) and my observations of others' pregnancies to help me, so I apologize in advance if I get anything wrong (but I am doing my research-I visited several sites to see when the baby's sex can be determined-most agreed on 16-20 weeks normally-and I even checked if the pregnancy would be showing at 15 weeks-according to the pictures I found, the answer is yes, especially if the girl in question is already tiny like Rachel). I also checked out Juilliard's official site for an idea of what classes Rachel would have to take (humanities showed up for both the drama and music paths) and the setup of the student housing. Oh, I also found a 2012 calendar to help me with the dates. So sorry for the super long note, but I just wanted to let ya'll know that I'll answer the questions and that I'm trying to be accurate with the details. Future A/Ns won't be as long.


	3. Chapter 2

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far. I just love reading what ya'll think. There are three more flashbacks in this chapter. They are again separated from the rest of the story by asterisks, in italics, and headed by the dates on which the events in question occurred. I would also like to warn that there is discussion of abortion in this chapter; all feelings expressed on the subject will be based on what I think the characters in question would believe about the option. Please read this chapter and let me know what you think! Thanks!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_

Puck's eyes were attached to Berry's lower back; he had been looking at her stomach, but she had turned around to take care of some customers. He couldn't see the small bump anymore but he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her.

_You just screwed up in a very big way._

The one sentence in Brittany's final e-mail to him floated through his head suddenly while he tracked Rachel to another table, eyes glued to the slight bulge of her belly which stood out clearly in profile. He remembered all the times that he had wondered what she had meant and now he knew. Berry wasn't stalking him; she was trying to tell him that she was pregnant. And what had he done? He had ignored all of her calls and all of Brittany's requests for him to call her. And when she showed up at his dorm to tell him?

_He had fucking security haul her off campus_.

_Shit_. No wonder she hated him.

But maybe he was overreacting. Maybe he wasn't the father at all; she could have hooked up with someone after she got to Juilliard. After all, she had slept with him and they hadn't talked to each other in months before that. If she was willing to fuck him so quickly then surely she would fuck someone she barely knew (he ignored the voice that told him that Berry wasn't that girl). If she had slept with someone else, then it was possible that...that bump wasn't his.

His mind was covered in a thick fog of disbelief when he stood up and approached where she was standing, talking to the couple at the table she was waiting. When he reached her, she turned to meet his eyes and scowled.

"Go sit down Noah," she ordered coldly.

His eyes drifted down to her stomach again. "You're pregnant."

"Oh, well-spotted," she stated in an acidic tone. "Now, go sit down."

He dragged his eyes from the bump to meet her icy brown ones. He ignored the customers, who were all watching the two of them as if they were a fucking TV show, and asked the question that he was dying to have the answer to. "It's not mine, is it? You slept with some stranger after you got to Juilliard and just wanted to pass it off as mine."

The woman gasped and the guy muttered 'Stupid, man' but Puck barely registered them. He was willing Berry to tell him that he was right, that the...the bump belonged to some unknown dude that she had slept with at school. Berry went completely still and her spine straightened.

"I will not discuss this. Go. Sit. Down," she ground out through clenched teeth.

Puck tried to make himself move; he really did, but he couldn't. That answer and the way she was looking at him, as if she would murder him right here in front of everyone if she could get away with it, destroyed his last little wisp of hope that his first instincts were wrong. If he wasn't the father, she wouldn't be so angry at him. His attention was so focused on Berry that he didn't notice the guy at the table leaving.

"I'm the dad, right? I'm the fucking dad."

He was desperate for her to deny it, to tell him that he was wrong, that someone else was the dad. He'd already been down this road once before; he didn't want to fucking do it again. _Please say it's not mine.  
_  
She didn't do that though; she just smiled bitterly at him. "If you had bothered to return even one of my calls, you would know the answer to that question."

He was staring at the bump again, his mind buzzing loudly as he tried to fight down his terror, when someone behind him cleared their throat as the guy retook his spot at the table.

"Sir." Puck didn't respond so the person tried again. "Sir."

Puck turned around and recognized the owner; he had been the cook here since Puck was little (the diner was named for his wife). "What?" he said more sharply than he meant to.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I won't let you upset Rachel," he informed Puck before gesturing at the door. "Leave now. Don't come back until you can do so without harassing my employees."

Puck frowned at the guy but left the diner anyway; he didn't want the cops called and he'd seen the guy do that in the past when others had refused to leave when he asked them to. As he walked through the door, he took one last look at Berry. She had her back to him but he could still see the swell of her stomach even without actually seeing it.

When he climbed into his truck, he started it up and pulled out of the lot. He didn't know where he was going (he couldn't go home; his mom would know immediately that something was fucking _wrong_), but he knew he had to get away from here.

ooooo

Rachel watched Puck disappear through the diner door. She was trying really hard not to think about what had just happened, so resting her hand over her stomach, she turned to her boss.

"I'm so sorry for causing a scene Henry. I know that Noah didn't pay for his food, so you should let me pay or subtract it from my check," she stated. She couldn't really afford to lose money, but she had known that Puck would respond strongly the instant he saw her baby bump. She had just really hoped that he'd leave before she had to exit from behind the counter.

Henry smiled gently at her. "It's okay Rachel. You didn't cause the scene; he did. You're always very professional."

When he disappeared back into the kitchen to handle the orders, Rachel turned back to the couple she was waiting on when Puck interrupted her. She tried to get back in the groove of her day, which had actually been going quite well despite her lack of energy before Noah disrupted it, but she just couldn't. His response, accusing her of lying about the baby being his, was worse than she had expected. She had known that he wouldn't be happy, but he was so determined to be there for Quinn when she got pregnant in high school that she had at least counted on him providing some help with the baby. She wasn't even talking about money here, although that would have been nice, but rather some emotional support while the two of them dealt with this together (not that she wanted to date him). She certainly hadn't been alone when she got pregnant so it was hardly fair that he got to walk away and remain completely unaffected while her entire life changed.

At least, those were the things she had hoped for the first time that she had called to tell him about the baby.

*****

_Friday, October 5, 2012_

"Congratulations Miss Berry! I can confirm that you are indeed pregnant!"

Rachel stared blankly up at the doctor. She was sitting on the hard table in an exam room. After the home tests had come up positive the previous day, she had come into the nearest convenience care today in order to have a doctor test her. She felt like her heart was sitting in her stomach and she could feel the hysteria rising. She couldn't understand what the doctor was so excited about. Didn't she realize that those were the very last words Rachel wanted to hear?

The doctor must have caught on because she frowned. "Is this not good news?"

Rachel fought back the panic and shook her head. "I'm sorry; this just wasn't what I had planned."

The doctor nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you do have options. Let me give you some pamphlets that will provide you with the facts on the choices available to you."

Rachel watched her walk over to one of the counters in the room and dig out several of the little booklets before writing something onto her prescription pad. When she handed the pamphlets to Rachel, she was reminded strongly of Miss Pillsbury. She had to fight back what she knew would be hysterical laughter at the thought.

"Those should help you to make the correct decision for your life. If you do decide to terminate the pregnancy, there are a couple of clinics listed in one of them that perform that function. While you are considering your options, I would like you to start taking a prenatal vitamin everyday. I've listed several viable over-the-counter options on that paper for you. Follow the directions included with whichever brand you choose. Even if you are considering abortion, please take the vitamin just in case you decide to keep the baby. It is crucial to the baby's development that you get the proper nutrients."

Rachel nodded and let the rest of the doctor's words wash over her. She hadn't even begun to consider her options yet. Once the doctor finally dismissed her, Rachel walked to the bus stop in a daze. Her mind was still hazy as she rode back to the stop nearest the residence hall and walked the rest of the way. When she entered the living room that she shared with her suitemates, they greeted her enthusiastically but she couldn't do anything more than give them a feeble wave before closing herself in her double room. She just wanted to be alone right now and she knew that her roommate would respect the closed door.

She collapsed on her bed and curled up, her pillow clutched to her chest. Rachel knew that she was safe, so she finally let the panic well up and overtake her. She cried quietly at first, but the longer she cried, the louder she got until she had to hold the pillow over her face just to muffle her wails; she didn't want any of her suitemates breaking in and seeing her like this.

How had it all gone so wrong? She had just wanted one really good night to remember while she was busy with school. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. She had finally found a place where she belonged. She had friends here; she had never had friends before (except for Finn, Tina, and Artie). She didn't want to lose it, but she didn't know how she would handle her grueling class schedule with the way she felt right now. She needed to make a decision on what she should do about the pregnancy.

As her tears slowed, she realized that the first thing she needed to do was talk to Noah. She needed to give him the chance that Quinn hadn't until she had broken the truth to Finn. Her and Noah may have had a one night stand, but he wasn't just some random stranger. He deserved the chance to be involved in the decision. She removed the pillow from her face and took a deep breath, calming herself. When she was sure that she could talk without her voice shaking, she got up and dug her phone out of her purse. She had never cleared her contact list of the eleven other original gleeks (she had always felt that would be like wiping part of her past away), and she prayed that Noah hadn't changed his number since then.

The phone rang three times before his voicemail picked up. She let out a relieved sigh when she recognized his voice and waited until the tone. She knew that she couldn't tell him that she was pregnant in a voicemail, so instead she said, "Hi Noah. It's Rachel Berry. I have something that we need to talk about. It's very important that you call me back right away. My number is 419-555-7213."

Rachel hung up the phone. Now all she had to do was wait for him to call her back. It was going to be a long night.  


Rachel sighed as she refilled a couple of customers' iced tea. That long night had turned out much longer than she initially expected. Puck hadn't returned that call or any of the others. With each message that he ignored, her hope that he would help her with her decision dwindled. It didn't stop her from continuing to leave him messages though, even as she grew desperate to hear from him.

"You doing okay Rachel?"

Brent's voice broke her out of her thoughts and she smiled tiredly at him as he followed her back to the counter. "I'm fine; just a little tired."

"Are you sure? I heard what happened while I was on break." He looked really concerned.

"I'm sure. I knew that he wouldn't respond well when he saw, so I was prepared," Rachel reassured him, setting the pitcher down. Brent was a really sweet guy and a great friend to her; she sometimes wished he wasn't gay because he'd be a great boyfriend.

He leaned over to set the orders that were up for one of his tables on his tray and asked, "So it's true that he really is your baby daddy?"

She rolled her eyes; she had always hated that term and, nice or not, Brent was also way too nosy. "Yes, but he's really just the dad by DNA only."

While Brent delivered his orders, she yawned into her arm and got coffee for the elderly woman that always came in and sat at the counter around this time everyday. When she sat the coffee down, Estelle (she had told Rachel to call her by her first name) frowned at her in concern.

"You look tired today dear. Is anything wrong? You're not cramping, are you?"

Estelle used to be a nurse, so she checked on Rachel's health every day.

Rachel smiled genuinely at her. "I'm quite alright Estelle. The baby's fine too; I just had a slightly stressful encounter a short time ago."

"The daddy came in," Brent announced, coming over to greet the older woman.

Rachel glared at him. "Brent, I'd rather not tell everyone about that. Britt's the only person who knows who the dad is."

Brent raised an eyebrow at her. "He was the hunk that you were talking to earlier, right?"

"Yes," Rachel bit out. She was beginning to wonder if Henry would fire her if she slapped Brent. She so didn't want to talk about Noah right now. Brent must have noticed because he held his hands up in surrender and headed off to greet some customers who had just sat down.

Rachel turned back to Estelle and took her money for the coffee. As she pulled the bill to her, Estelle placed her hand on top of Rachel's.

"Dear, if you ever need someone older and more experienced to talk to, I'm here," she offered.

Rachel felt tears prickle behind her eyes but she ignored them (darn hormones). "Thank you Estelle, but I'll be okay."

While she moved on to help another customer, she felt like the last part of her shift would go better than it had since Puck came in.

ooooo

Puck was sitting in his truck on the side of the road. He'd been driving around since he had left the diner, not paying attention to where he was. He had gotten clear to Bellefontaine before he even realized that he'd left Lima. He was freaking the fuck out; he'd made it halfway back to Columbus and didn't know he'd left the fucking town. When he'd seen the sign for Bellefontaine, he'd pulled into town and parked on the side of the street.

He slammed both fists onto the top of the steering wheel. _What in the hell was he going to do?!_ He didn't want to be a fucking dad and he sure as hell didn't want to be tied to Berry in any way, shape, or form for the rest of his life. He'd already done the right thing once and stuck by Quinn while she was pregnant even though she hadn't wanted him to; should he really have to do it again? And what if Berry just planned to give the baby up for adoption too? Did he really need to hang around her for the next however many months for no reason?

He dropped his head back onto the seat behind him. He could finish the drive back to Columbus and just pretend that today had never happened. He'd just avoid Lima from now on and insist that if his mom and sister wanted to see him they had to drive down to the school. Rachel clearly didn't want anything to do with him and he doubted that she'd keep the...it anyway. She'd just place it for adoption and then pick up her life like it had never happened. So, why should he disrupt his life for nothing?

His mind made up, he started the truck back up, aiming himself toward Columbus. He was going back to school and he would pretend that nothing had ever happened. He would also pretend that he didn't see that small bump of her stomach every time he closed his eyes.

ooooo

When Rachel's shift ended, she popped her head into the kitchen to say goodbye to Henry and waved at Brent on her way out the door. She needed to shop for a larger uniform and she thought that she might drop into McDonald's and say hi to Britt. She kind of really needed to talk to her about Puck being in town and knowing about the baby, but that could wait until she got off work. For now, she thought that seeing her best friend might make her feel better until they could talk (she also kind of really, really wanted some fries and the diner's didn't satisfy the craving when she'd eaten a couple earlier).

She walked the few blocks to their building and hopped into her car in the parking lot. It made a grinding noise when she started it and she sighed. She'd have to get that checked out and mechanics were really expensive; she hated her new car. It was such a gas guzzler and so bad for the environment. It was also in awful shape when she bought it, but it was really cheap, so she was able to afford it. When she made it to Target safely, she thanked God just as she did every time she made it to her destination without the car dying.

She decided that it was time to give in to the maternity clothing. She would only be able to wear her larger uniform for a few more weeks anyway, so if she bought the maternity clothes now, she wouldn't have to just turn around and buy them later. When she realized that none of her clothing was going to fit once she started showing more, she started to worry. How was she going to afford more than just a couple of maternity items? She didn't have the budget for new clothes.

Sometimes she thought that her dads had been right.

*****

_Saturday, October 13, 2012_

Rachel pulled into her dads' driveway early in the afternoon. She had left campus immediately after her last class the previous day and driven until she had to stop and sleep. She had woken up early this morning and completed the trip. Now that she was here though, all she could do was sit in the car and stare at the house.

This week had been awful. Bella had told everyone that she was pregnant and Rachel initially couldn't understand why; she had thought they were friends. When she had asked Bella about it, the other girl had said that it knocked Rachel out of the running for any important roles in their upcoming performances. All week her classmates had been whispering about her and her counselor had approached her with additional literature about her options and a lecture about how she couldn't let her 'condition' interfere with her classes. She had also gone over the leave of absence and withdrawal policies. In addition, Puck still hadn't called her back and she'd probably left at least ten messages a day since last Friday. She was starting to think that she'd have to actually drive to Columbus if she wanted to tell him about the baby.

Since she was having zero luck getting a hold of Noah, she'd decided to drive home this weekend and tell her dads. Sure, it was nearly a ten hour drive, but she knew that she needed to tell them in person. She was terrified because she knew they'd be angry and she wasn't sure what they would say to her. Taking a deep breath, she got out of the car and walked up to the door. They weren't expecting her, so she knocked first.

She stood there for a minute and then the door swung open to reveal Daddy.

"Rachel! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on campus practicing?" he questioned, stepping aside so that she could enter the house.

"Probably, but I had to come home this weekend. I need to talk to you and Dad about something really important," she explained, walking into the living room. She felt a surge of nerves when she saw Dad sitting there.

"Rachel! Why aren't you at school practicing?" Dad repeated Daddy's question.

Rachel sighed. Sometimes she felt like her talent was all her dads cared about. "I needed to talk to the two of you. Daddy, could you please sit down?"

He cast her a confused look, but took a seat in his chair anyway. Dad leaned forward. "What is it Rachel?"

Her stomach was churning and she wondered briefly if she was going to be sick. She didn't know how to tell them what she needed to delicately, so she just blurted it out.

"I'm pregnant."

In the aftermath of her statement, Rachel understood that old saying about how silence is deafening. Then they both started to laugh. That was so not the response she had expected.

"Oh that was a funny joke Rachel," Daddy got out between chuckles. "Why are you really home?"

Dad was laughing so hard that he couldn't talk. Rachel felt her heart sink. They were going to kill her when they found out that she wasn't joking.

She met both of their eyes in turn. "I'm not kidding. I really am pregnant. I went to the doctor last Friday and she confirmed it." She said this in a very serious tone. The sooner they realized that she wasn't just joking around, the better.

They were silent once again before Dad frowned at her. "How could you allow this to happen? We raised you better than this."

Rachel could feel her nausea pick up. "I didn't mean for it to happen, Dad. We just got carried away."

"And where is the boy who's responsible for it?" Daddy asked harshly.

Rachel shook her head and she could feel the tears fighting to be let out. "He doesn't know; he won't return my calls."

They were both quiet for several moments before Dad spoke again. "Well, it's clear what you have to do."

She frowned slightly. It wasn't clear at all to her, so how could it be clear to him? He must have read her confusion because he answered without her having to ask.

"You have to get rid of it," he declared in a firm tone.

Rachel stared at him in shock. She knew that he was pro-choice, all three of them were, but she never expected that he would suggest that she terminate her pregnancy as if that were the only acceptable option.

He continued. "Your father and I have put entirely too much time and money into building your talents to let you waste them on a mistake."

Her hand automatically drifted down to her still-flat stomach. She had read the pamphlet the doctor had given her on abortion, but she didn't know that that was the right choice for her.

"I talked to my counselor at school and she said that they would probably grant me a leave of absence for the spring semester so that I could have the baby. And then when I returned to school next fall, I could get an apartment in town and find a daycare center to take the baby during school and practices," she explained. She had seriously considered what she would do if she decided to keep the baby.

Daddy was already shaking his head before she even got through her explanation. "That's completely unacceptable. If you're focusing your attention on a baby then you won't be working on your career as you should be. How will you ever make it onto Broadway by your 23rd birthday if you're not completely focused on your talents?"

She opened her mouth to argue-she might make Broadway a little later than she initially planned-but she would still get there, but Dad cut her off.

"Rachel, you either terminate the pregnancy or accept the consequences if you don't. We'll give you until next weekend to decide."

She felt a shiver of fear at the way he said consequences. She had known that they would be angry, but she hadn't expected this. Blinking back tears, she mumbled a goodbye to them and left the house. She needed to get away from her dads and sort through what they had said.  


Having this baby was going to be much more difficult than she had thought it would be back then, and her Broadway dreams were now on hold indefinitely, possibly permanently. As she stared in the dressing room mirror at the swell of her stomach that protected her baby though, she couldn't imagine giving it up now. And in just over a week she'd know if she was having a boy or a girl and she could actually start buying things for it, like clothing and crib bedding (though she also cringed at the cost). She'd also have a better idea on the sort of names she should start looking at. Brittany had already made several creative suggestions (she was currently calling the baby Rainbow because she swore it was a girl). As Rachel tried on the maternity skirt and shirt, she let out a sigh.

It may cost her money to buy the clothing to replace her uniforms, but she thought that not having her skirt cut her in two was worth it (_and probably much better for the baby_, she had to admit).

ooooo

At 4:30, Puck found himself sitting in his truck in the same university parking lot that he always parked in. He had been sitting there for ten minutes, but he couldn't leave the truck for some reason. He kept telling himself to just open the door and get out but he hadn't yet. He was so pissed off at himself for it.

Why couldn't he just leave the damn truck? He had already considered everything. There was no way Berry was going to keep it if it might derail her dreams of being a star. He could declare himself off the hook right? _But then what is she doing working at a diner in Lima?_ a voice hissed at him. _Why didn't she just get rid of it?_

That last question bothered him more than it should. He always knew why Quinn kept the baby; she was very strongly pro-life, so there was no way she ever would have terminated the pregnancy. But he had always gotten the feeling that Berry was more liberal, probably a pro-choice girl. Yet she was apparently keeping the baby. _Why?_

When his phone rang again, he saw that it was his mom calling. She had called half a dozen times; he had told her that he planned to make it to town by three at the latest. He should really pick up the phone and just tell her he had changed his mind and that he had no plans to visit Lima again in the near future. For some reason, he couldn't though.

He dropped his head forward onto the steering wheel and closed his eyes. He regretted it instantly when the sight of Berry's stomach flashed behind his lids. That was his bump; he had put it there. And yet here he was fucking running from it like a damn pussy. A sickening realization hit him-_he had become his father_. He had sworn he'd never be like him but when Berry had given him the chance to take responsibility last month (something that Quinn hadn't given him until the truth was out for all to know), he had ignored her and then had her escorted away by security. And when he got a second chance to man up today, he fucking ran away just like his deadbeat dad years ago.

He sat back up. He wasn't his father and he still had a chance to fix this if Berry would let him. He had no doubt that she would because he was fucking charming; all he had to do was get her to talk to him. Mind made up (_for real this time_), he started up his truck and backed out of his space. As he pulled out onto the road that would lead him to the interstate and then Lima, he didn't know if he was making the right fucking choice. But he did know one thing.

_He wasn't his father_.

ooooo

Rachel opened the door to the McDonald's that Brittany worked at. She was relieved to find that the lobby was nearly empty of customers; she knew that business always slowed down between four and seven. It was part of the reason that Brittany hated working the midday shifts; she got really bored for the last few hours. She approached the counter.

"Can I help you?" the teen behind the register asked. "Oh, you're Brittany's friend, right? I'll get her for you."

Rachel visited often enough (McDonald's fries were one of the more abiding cravings she'd had over the last couple of weeks) that the majority of the employees recognized her.

"It's okay, Dean; I'm right here," Brittany announced as she came up from the back. "Hey, Rachel! Craving fries again?"

Rachel gave her a sheepish grin and nodded.

Brittany scowled. "Those are so unhealthy. You shouldn't be eating them."

Feeling a surge of annoyance, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest. "You know perfectly well that Dr. Greenman said that I could indulge my cravings occasionally as long as I'm mostly eating healthy. And you also know that I'm being perfectly healthy thanks to you and Henry monitoring what I eat at home and at work."

She wasn't exactly sure when Brittany had done it, but at some point she had gotten to Henry and explained Rachel's dietary needs. Ever since, her boss made her healthy meals of lean beef, chicken, or, on very rare occasions, fish. He only allowed her one serving of that a week though because of the mercury levels; that was how she knew that Brittany was responsible for his food choices. He didn't have any kids, so she it would be really weird if he knew about the mercury level thing being bad for the baby without Brittany's interference.

"Henry hasn't let me have a good burger at work since you talked to him. I'm only allowed lean cuts of beef," she accused sulkily.

Brittany's cheeks tinged pink. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Brittany also insisted that she hadn't ever talked to Henry, but she was a _really_ bad liar.

"Besides, you should be happy that he takes an interest in your health and Rainbow's," Brittany added.

Okay, so Rachel probably sounded ungrateful but she really wasn't. She appreciated that Henry and Brittany both cared enough to help her stay healthy (and everything else that Brittany had done for her), but it wasn't always easy to express it when she had to work around the best burgers she'd ever eaten without ever getting to eat one herself. Sometimes she thought that just one cheeseburger would go a long way toward making her much happier with her roommate and her boss.

"I am Brittany; I just sometimes wish that he'd make me at least one cheeseburger."

The cashier, Dean, was clearly bored of their conversation, so he interrupted. "You wanted to order some fries right? What size?"

At the exact same time that Rachel said 'Large', Brittany said 'Medium'. Rachel glared at her for a moment and then let out an annoyed huff.

"Medium is fine."

Brittany grinned triumphantly and Rachel stuck her tongue out at her in return (immature yes, but also satisfying). While Rachel paid, Brittany got the fries for her.

"I can probably get away as soon as Jamie gets back from break if you want to eat those here," Brittany told her. "I don't take smoke breaks you know, so they owe me at least five minutes for a non-smoke break."

Rachel nodded and left the counter for the tiny corner booth that she usually sat at when she visited Brittany. While she happily dug into her fries, moaning slightly (they were just so _good_), she smiled a bit as she remembered the first time she'd talked to Brittany right here in this booth. It had been the very first time she'd seen her since graduation (not counting the glimpse she had gotten of her at Mike's party that night).

*****

_Saturday, October 13, 2012_

After she had left her dads, she had realized that she hadn't had anything to drink in ages and she was really thirsty. So, she had driven to McDonald's and gone inside. She could get a bottle of water and find somewhere quiet to sit while she thought about everything that her dads had said to her. Once she had paid, she plopped down in a corner booth and stared around at the people for a moment while she drank some of the water. She then set the bottle down and dropped her head into her hands.

What was she going to do? She was really worried about the way Dad had said that she would have to 'accept the consequences'. What had he meant by that? They wouldn't really disown her or anything if she chose to keep the baby, would they? She could feel the tears that she had been fighting since she talked to them spilling over as she considered the possibility. She really wished she had somewhere private to go, but she just couldn't go back home tonight. She should probably head back to New York and just stay at a hotel like she had last night, even though she didn't really have the extra money for that. Her dads only gave her enough to pay her bills and then provided a little extra for entertainment, although it wasn't much because they felt it would take away from her practice time. She had been saving the extra money since she had moved out, choosing to focus on her schooling. If she had to pay for a second night at a hotel, she'd deplete the small savings she had started up.

"Rachel, are you okay?"

Recognizing Brittany's voice, Rachel wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up. She attempted a small smile at the blonde. "I'm fine, Brittany. Thanks for asking."

Brittany dropped her tray onto the table and slid into the seat across from Rachel. While she removed the lid from her salad, she said, "I saw you come in earlier and I'm on break now. Is it okay if I sit with you?"

Rachel shook her head. "This isn't really the best time Brittany. I'm afraid I'll be awful company right now."

Pausing as she tore her dressing open, the blonde studied Rachel. "You've been crying."

Rachel looked away from her; she mostly didn't want to discuss it with Brittany and yet a part of her really just wanted to break down and tell her everything. Since Bella had betrayed her, Rachel lacked anyone that she could confide in about what was happening. She really needed to talk to someone who wouldn't judge her or use the information against her. Brittany would have no reason to really care or judge; they weren't in high school anymore. She was still trying to decide whether or not to give in and tell her when Brittany took the choice from her.

She glanced around the lobby and then leaned forward and whispered, "Are you pregnant, Rachel?"

Rachel was completely shocked. "How did you know?"

Brittany drew back again and started mixing the dressing into her salad. "You look like my cousin did when she found out that she was pregnant. She was very panicky and she cried a lot."

That made sense. She didn't get a chance to respond before Brittany stunned her further.

"Have you told Puck yet?"

Rachel could feel her mouth literally drop open in surprise. When Brittany saw her expression, she explained.

"I saw you two leave Mike's party together. I was sitting on the stairs while you kissed and then left, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened after that," she said with a self-deprecating smile.

Three realizations hit Rachel all at once. Number one, Brittany was clearly aware of her reputation as a dumb blonde. Number two, she was a lot more observant than Rachel had ever given her credit for. And number three, Rachel could talk to her about the pregnancy freely because she already knew about both it and that Puck was the dad. So, Rachel poured it all out-how Puck wasn't returning her calls, how Bella had told everyone at school, and the choice that her dads were forcing on her. By the time she was done, Brittany had finished her salad and Rachel felt slightly better just to get everything out in the open. Brittany checked her watch.

"I need to get back to work right now, but what are you doing later tonight?"

Rachel sighed. "I think I'm going to start back to New York. I can't go back home until I make a decision, so I may as well get on the road."

"You can't do that!" Brittany exclaimed. "You're going to come stay at my apartment tonight and we're going to have a fun girls' night in. Then when you go back to school tomorrow, you'll feel much better. Wait right here; I'll be back with my address for you."

Rachel had waited; Brittany's offer was too tempting to resist. When Brittany had returned, she handed Rachel a slip of paper and told her that she got off work at seven and would be home shortly after that. As the blonde bounced away, Rachel felt like her life had just taken a surreal turn.

*****

That conversation had been the start of her friendship with Brittany; they had continued talking on the phone and over e-mail after Rachel returned for what would be her last week at school. And Brittany was the one there for her later when she made the biggest decision of her life.

"You look all far away," Brittany stated, dropping into the seat across from her. "You're thinking about your dads aren't you?"

Rachel shrugged, swallowing her fry. "Sort of. I was actually thinking about that first night that I stayed over at your apartment."

Brittany grinned. "That was a fun night. It was the first time I'd had someone over since everyone went off to college and left me here."

Sometimes Rachel felt uncomfortable when Brittany said stuff like that. It had taken her a while, but she had eventually realized that just as Brittany was filling her need for support, both emotionally and financially (in that she was sharing her apartment with Rachel and thus the bills were all halved), Rachel was filling Brittany's need for friendship and company. She had been lonely once all of her friends had left for school, and Rachel had eventually figured out that was the reason why Brittany had so quickly warmed up to her. Rachel had been a familiar face in a sea of strangers. She knew that Brittany had problems with the people at work because as a manager, she couldn't really be friends with the crew outside of work but the rest of the managers always treated her like she was beneath them because she sometimes said interesting things. In a way, the fact that Rachel was able to fulfill one of Brittany's needs made her feel better about everything that the blonde had done for her.

"So what's bugging you Rachel?" Brittany asked, stealing one of Rachel's fries.

Rachel glared at her and moved her fries out of Brittany's reach. "I had a bit of a heated encounter at work today."

Brittany frowned in concern, dropping her hand, in mid-reach, back down to the table. "Did one of your dads come in?"

Rachel shook her head. Her dads had come into the diner once since she started working there; they had immediately turned around and walked back out and they hadn't been back in since.

"Then who was it?" Brittany looked confused.

"You know how most colleges let out for Thanksgiving," Rachel prompted her, "and most kids go home for the holiday."

Brittany gasped, a horrified expression on her face and Rachel knew she'd figured it out. "You don't mean...?"

She nodded in confirmation. "Noah's back in town and he knows about the baby."

ooooo

Puck pulled back into Lima shortly before seven. He stopped at the diner first but the waitress he'd talked to had told him that Berry had already left for the day. He had hightailed it out of there before the owner or that other waiter noticed him if they were still there; he didn't want to push either of them. The owner could ban him and take away the awesome burgers and that waiter was built, and while Puck could probably take him, he didn't want to test the guy.

So, twenty minutes later, he found himself parked by the curb outside of Berry's house. He really didn't want to have it out with her in front of her dads, but he didn't think he could handle not talking to her about it tonight now that he had made the decision to man up. Still, he knew he should probably call and tell his mom where he was; Berry's dads probably wanted to kill him for knocking up their daughter and then bailing on her (sure, he hadn't known until today, but he also knew that was his own fault). Plus, he still hadn't called her back. He couldn't warn his mom that he was at the Berrys' without facing a lot of awkward questions that he definitely didn't want to answer over the phone though.

Shit, he hadn't even thought about what his mom was going to think about all of this. It had nearly destroyed her when he knocked up Quinn, so how was she going to handle it now that he had done it yet again. The only thing he had going for him this time was the fact that Berry was at least Jewish. His mom might even recognize her because they went to the same temple.

He took a deep breath and reminded himself that he's not a pussy. He is a badass and he could face Berry's dads. He hopped out of the truck and trudged up to their front door. He still really didn't want to do this though; he wished he had her number and could just call her and ask to meet her somewhere. But he didn't have it and it had already been pushed out of his missed and received calls lists by more recent phone calls. He knocked on the door. He really hoped that Berry was in since her Prius wasn't in the driveway.

The door swung open and he saw that her bigger dad (the one that could break him in half) was standing there. _Fuck._

The guy studied him for a couple of moments. "Can I help you?"

Puck ran a hand over the back of his head. "Is Rachel here?"

Her dad's eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened into a scowl. "Rachel doesn't live here anymore."

When he started to shut the door, Puck reached out and held it open. "Wait. Where does she live then?"

The man looked so furious that Puck would have been scared if he wasn't a badass.

"I don't know. Now please leave our premises before I call the cops."

When he shut the door this time, Puck let him. As he high-tailed it back to his truck, he wondered about Berry's dad's reaction.

_What the fuck had happened to Berry's life?_


	4. Chapter 3

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far. I just love reading what ya'll think. There are three more flashbacks in this chapter (and two are very angsty, I'll admit). They are again separated from the rest of the story by asterisks, in italics, and headed by the dates on which the events in question occurred. I would also like to warn that there is again discussion of abortion in this chapter; all feelings expressed on the subject will be based on what I think the characters in question would believe about the option. Also, I totally made up Brittany's last name because I couldn't find it listed anywhere. Please read this chapter and let me know what you think! Thanks!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

"Okay, Rachel, you have to tell me everything that happened," Brittany demanded.

After Rachel had told her that Noah was back and had found out about the pregnancy, Brittany had to get back to work, but she had told Rachel that they would talk about this more in depth once they got home. As soon as Brittany had come through the door, she had grabbed Rachel from the kitchen where she was scanning the cabinets for dinner and forced her into the living room. She had shoved her onto the couch, sat down on the coffee table to face her and made her demand. She hadn't even changed out of her uniform and that was one of the first things that Brittany usually did when she got home.

So, Rachel explained everything about her encounter with Puck to Brittany. When she was done, Brittany stared at her for a moment.

"What a dick!" she finally yelled out.

Rachel burst into laughter; she couldn't help herself. It was just so funny because that was exactly what Rachel had been thinking. She didn't say words like that usually, but she sure thought them at times.

Brittany stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "Well, he is."

Still giggling, Rachel nodded enthusiastically. "Believe me, I definitely agree with you on that."

"What are you going to do? Are you going to look him up so that you guys can talk about Rainbow? Or are you going to just ignore him like he did you?" Brittany asked curiously.

Calming down, Rachel sighed. "I doubt that I have anything to worry about. I bet that he's already back in Columbus by now. He didn't want to hear what I had to say a month ago so I doubt that he cares now that he knows the truth."

Brittany tilted her head and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe, but now that he knows, he might also search you out. He did stick around for Quinn after all."

Rachel sighed as she considered that possibility. "You could be right," she admitted, "but I kind of hope that you aren't. I don't really want him in my life after what he's put me through. He should have been there while I was dealing with my fathers. I should have been able to turn to him to help me know that I was doing the right thing. Instead, I spent that time pestering you with my issues."

"You weren't pestering me," Brittany denied. "I'm glad I was able to be there for you during everything. You're my best friend, you know that right?"

She was getting teary eyed again (she really hated what the hormones were doing to her emotions; she felt like a leaky faucet half the time anymore). "Yeah, Britt, I know. And you're my best friend too."

Brittany grinned. "Good. And no matter what happens with Puck now, I'll be here for you. And I'm going to be the best aunt ever to Rainbow."

Rachel laughed. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not naming my baby Rainbow?"

"You just have to get used to the name. I have faith that you'll come around by the time Rainbow's born," she stated confidently.

"What if it's a boy?" Rachel asked between giggles.

"It's not; it's a girl."

"We don't know that for sure yet. It could be a boy," Rachel reminded her. Brittany's certainty that she was having a girl amused her to no end.

Brittany gave an annoyed huff. "Fine. If it's a boy then you can name him Rainboy."

Rachel literally collapsed sideways in giggles on the couch at that declaration. That had to be the most ludicrous name Brittany had suggested yet (and that was saying something given that last week she was calling the baby Butterfly). It wasn't too long before Brittany joined her in laughter. Rachel was very lucky to have Brittany in her life to make her laugh. There was a time not so long ago when she felt like her world was going to end and Brittany's support was all that kept her going.

*****

_Friday, October 19, 2012_

Rachel still hadn't made her decision. Her dads were demanding that she make the choice to terminate her pregnancy by tomorrow, and she couldn't decide. True, she hadn't wanted to get pregnant, but now that she was and had gotten used to the idea over the past two weeks, she wasn't sure that she could get rid of the baby. Plus, Puck still hadn't called her back and she didn't feel right getting an abortion without ever letting him know that she was pregnant. But she didn't know what she'd do if her dads disowned her. She needed to talk to someone; she needed to talk to Brittany.

She grabbed her phone and dialed Brittany's number, a number she now knew by heart after this last week. Brittany picked up on the second ring.

"Hi, Rach."

Rachel smiled at the sound of a friendly voice. "Hi, Brittany. Do you have time to talk?"

"Of course. I'm just doing dishes; I'd love an excuse to stop," Brittany's voice chirped over the line.

"Puck still hasn't called me back," Rachel said suddenly. She hadn't meant to just break into her problems like that but she couldn't help it. Brittany had a way of pulling any and all information out of Rachel, even the secrets that she wouldn't normally share, without even trying.

"Well, that's crappy of him," Brittany stated seriously.

Rachel let out a sad chuckle. "It is. I have to decide about the abortion by tomorrow and he hasn't called me back yet. Would I be a horrible person if I followed my fathers' orders without talking to Puck first?"

"Do you want to get rid of the baby?" Brittany asked.

"I just want my life to go back to what it was before I found out that I was pregnant," Rachel admitted honestly. "If I keep the baby, that's never going to happen. But I also don't really want to get rid of it. I just can't decide."

Brittany was silent for a very long time before she spoke again. "Well, Rachel, you've given Puck lots of time to find out about the baby and he hasn't bothered so I think you have to decide what's best. Whatever you choose in the end, I'm behind you 100%. I'm sure you'll make the right choice for you."

"Thanks Brittany." Rachel's voice cracked because she was fighting back tears at Brittany's show of support, the kind of support that neither her own fathers or the father of her baby were giving her. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she added softly.

"You'd make your decision anyway," the other girl responded without hesitation. "You're strong like that."

After they said goodbye and hung up, Rachel made her choice. She didn't want to get rid of her baby, but the prospect of losing her fathers and having to raise a child alone was too terrifying for her to consider. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she picked up the phone to give her dads what they would consider the good news.  


"Raaacheeeel," Brittany said in a singsong voice, breaking through her thoughts.

She blinked and focused in on her roommate. "Sorry, I guess I just zoned out."

Brittany's phone started to ring and she took it out. The blonde checked the display and frowned. She slid the phone back into her pocket.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

"Nah, it's not important," she said with a grin before changing the subject. "Did you buy some bigger clothes?"

Rachel nodded and got up to get her new maternity uniforms to show off, all thoughts of Puck shoved away for the time being.

ooooo

When Puck left the Berrys' house, he drove straight to his mom's. When he entered, he brushed off her questions (he sure as hell didn't want to tell her why he was so late), raided the kitchen, and locked himself in his bedroom. He needed to figure out what in the fuck was going on because so far his return home wasn't anything like he had expected.

He was going to be a dad. The thought fucking terrified him and it definitely wasn't what he wanted. However, the deed was done so he needed to get used to the idea. Right now though, what he wanted more than anything (well, other than to go back in time and remind himself to wear a condom because he was now pretty sure he'd forgotten that step when he fucked Berry) was to find out what was going on with Berry's life. It seemed like it had fucking fallen apart.

Puck decided to do something that he rarely ever did-do some logical sorting through what he knew. He usually just went with his gut instinct, but that was what had driven him to Columbus today, so he thought a new approach was needed to the situation. Heading to his desk, he listed what he knew.

1. Berry was pregnant with his...his...thing. _Fuck._  
2. Berry worked at Barb's Diner.  
3. Her waiter buddy and her boss were both scary protective of her (that was going to make it fucking difficult for him to corner her at work).  
4. She had dropped out of Juilliard.  
5. She didn't live with her dads anymore.  
6. Her dads didn't know where she lived, so they probably weren't on speaking terms with her right now.  
7. Puck didn't have her phone number.  
8. Puck didn't know how the fuck to get a hold of her except for going to the diner (see number 3).

_Well, fuck_. Puck didn't know how he was going to corner Berry long enough to talk to her about the bump. Looking at the list he had created, he also realized that Berry probably fucking hated his ass right now. He may not know everything that had happened to her, but it was pretty clear just from what he did know that her entire life had changed while he was off chasing freshman pussy.

He was thinking about where to start when it hit him. Brittany. She clearly knew about the...it and that he was the dad, so she'd probably know how he could get in touch with Berry. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and found Britt's number in his address book. He selected it and listened to the phone ring four times before it went to her voicemail.

"Hey, Brittany, it's Puck. I saw Rachel at the diner today. She's fucking pregnant; why in the hell didn't you warn me? Because I know you knew a month ago. Anyway, I tried going by her dads' house but she doesn't live there anymore and the dad I talked to didn't know where she lives. I bet you do though, so call me back and give me her number or her address. I need to fucking talk to her."

When Puck hung up, he realized that his message was very angry, but he was fucking pissed that Brittany, who was supposed to be his friend, had taken Berry's side in all of this when she could have told him about the...it so that he could step up (he was pretty sure he would have even if he had run first like he had today-_he had to make sure Berry never found out about that_). He just hoped that Brittany would call him back. He couldn't do a fucking thing to help with this situation until he found Berry.

ooooo

Sunday, November 18, 2012

When Rachel woke up the next morning, she took care of her normal routine. As she applied her makeup, she was thrilled to discover that the dark circles under her eyes had faded some. She had actually slept pretty well the previous night for once, plus since her shift didn't start until ten, she was able to sleep in until 8:30. Her uniform was also much more comfortable now that she had switched to maternity clothing. Her bump was also slightly less visible under her shirt, which barely clung to her, so that meant less awkward and judgmental stares from people who either thought that she was too young to be a mom or who spotted her lack of a wedding ring and decided that she must have no morals. The smell of muffins wafting from the kitchen also made her happy. She loved muffins!

When she got into the kitchen, she grinned brightly when she saw that Brittany was pulling muffins out of the oven, just as she expected. Her smile widened when she saw that they were strawberry ones. She headed to the fridge; she thought some milk would be tasty with the muffins.

As Brittany popped the muffins out of the pan into a bowl, she glanced over at Rachel. "Hey, pour me a glass of that too."

Rachel pulled down a second glass and while she was filling it, Brittany asked, "Have you checked your phone yet this morning?"

"No. Why? Did it ring earlier?" Rachel always left her phone in the kitchen overnight. Brittany insisted on it so that her sleep wouldn't be disturbed.

"Actually, it rang after you went to bed last night. You should check your messages; it was Mike calling you," Brittany explained, setting their plates of muffins on the table and adding Rachel's vitamin to one of them.

Rachel set the milk down and picked up her phone. She knew that Brittany had probably given Mike her number. After she had checked her voicemail, she hung up and set the phone on the table, staring at it as if it were a bomb.

"Rach, you're creeping me out." Brittany was frowning at her.

"Mike's throwing a party," she announced, still glaring at her phone.

Brittany nodded. "I know. It should be fun; everyone's probably going to be there."

Rachel met her eyes. "Exactly. Everyone's going to be there and if I show up, they're going to find out that I'm pregnant. You know that my baby bump shows under all of my casual clothing but my sweats and I refuse to go out in public in those."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Really, Rach, you're being silly. Are you ashamed that you're pregnant?"

"No." And she really wasn't; she was happy with her choice to keep her baby. "It's just that I spent all that time telling them about how I was going to be a big Broadway star and this is as far as possible from that. I don't want to face the ridicule that I'm sure will come if I go to the party. Plus Noah might be there if he didn't head back to Columbus yesterday," she admitted.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Rachel. It's not like any of them have any right to comment on your pregnancy. And I honestly don't think that they'll care." When Rachel still looked unsure, Brittany added. "You'll probably get to see Finn, Artie, and Tina; you still talk to them even though you haven't told any of them about the baby, right? And I'll be there, so I can help block Puck from bugging you. I doubt he will though since there will be other people that he knows around."

Rachel finally nodded. "Okay, I'll go. I have to admit that it might be fun to see Tina, Artie, and Finn. And I do kind of want to tell them about the baby."

Besides, it wasn't as if she hadn't faced much more difficult prospects in the past, she reassured herself as she walked to work later.

*****

_Monday, October 22, 2012_

Trembling slightly, Rachel looked around the clinic's waiting room. When she had called to set up an appointment for the abortion Friday night, she hadn't expected them to schedule her in so quickly. She thought that she'd have more time to come to terms with her decision. Yet here she was, bright and early in the morning, and in five minutes she was scheduled to walk through that door and when she walked back out she'd be baby free. The thought made her feel empty.

Her dads had assured her that she had made the only choice that she could make in this situation. They told her that her life would go back to just like it was before and that they would all soon forget that she had made this mistake. She didn't feel that way though; she knew that she would never forget that she had almost become a mom.

She rested her hand over her flat stomach, the denim of her jeans rough under her palm. She knew that if she kept the baby, her waist would thicken soon, giving her a visible baby bump. She kind of hated that she'd never get to feel that. How would things ever be normal again for her given how horrible she already felt about this idea? She was terrified that she would hate herself for doing this but she was also terrified of what would happen if she didn't.

"Rachel Berry."

Rachel startled and got to her feet. As she approached the nurse, she felt like her legs wouldn't support her and she nervously yanked on her ponytail, unraveling some of her hair from it. God, this just felt so wrong_._

She robotically followed the nurse's instructions as she collected Rachel's vitals. When the nurse left her in the room where the procedure was going to take place, she felt like she was going to be sick and she knew it wasn't morning sickness this time. She just wanted her life back to what it was, but would that ever happen again? She could already never look at her dads the same again because they had forced this choice on her. And what about Noah? He hadn't called her back but what if he found out what she had done one day and it really hurt him?

When the doctor and nurse entered the room, they started to explain the procedure to Rachel as they made the preparations. She wasn't taking in a word he said though; her mind was filled with a loud buzzing and she could feel the panic rising in her. She couldn't do this! She couldn't! She shouldn't have to!__

"I can't!" she shouted, scrambling off the chair that she was sitting in. "I can't do this! I don't want to get rid of my baby and I shouldn't have to," she pleaded with the doctor and his nurse. She could feel the tears flowing thickly down her face and she couldn't breathe.

"Miss Berry," the nurse said with alarm. "Please calm down." She pushed Rachel back into her chair and then knelt before her. "Breathe, Miss Berry, breathe." She demonstrated by taking deep breaths herself.

Rachel copied her but still managed to gasp out between breaths, "Please don't make me get rid of my baby."

The nurse looked like she was about to cry and she glanced over at the doctor. Rachel followed her gaze.

The doctor gave her a gentle, comforting smile. "We're not going to force you into anything. In fact, I can't in good conscience perform the procedure on you anymore; not when you so clearly don't want it."

His words calmed Rachel down. He wasn't going to perform the procedure on her; she was going to keep her baby and raise it herself. Her dads were going to kill her when they found out, and she had probably just lost Juilliard forever because of it, but she got to keep her baby. She gave the other two a grateful, teary smile.

"You're going to be a mommy, Miss Berry," the doctor told her with a bright smile.

Oh, God, she was going to be a mommy and those words felt more right to her than anything else had since she had gotten off the phone with Brittany the previous day.

She was going to be a mom._  
_

That was one of the most difficult decisions that she had ever made and it had changed her life every bit as much as she had feared it would. She didn't regret it though; she was looking forward to having her baby and in the meantime, she was enjoying her pregnancy as much as she could.

"Oh, waitress, I ordered my burger medium well and this is just medium," a familiar, whiny voice sounded from one of Brent's tables (he had just gone on break) shortly after one.

Rachel took a deep breath before turning and facing Santana. When she saw that Quinn was with her, Rachel had to remind herself that she could get through this.

"I'm sorry; let me take it back to the kitchen and get that corrected," she said, a bright (false) smile on her face.

When she reached for Santana's plate, the other girl sneered up at her. "Rupaul? What are you doing working in a Lima diner? I thought that you were headed off to Juilliard."

Rachel reminded herself to remain professional. She needed to keep this job for her baby. "I had something come up and I had to return home."

She grabbed Santana's plate quickly and carried it back to the kitchen, explaining the complaint to Henry. While he fixed it, she headed back out. She stopped beside the table next to the one the two ex-Cheerios were sitting at and smiled at the woman. It was Dr. Greenman, her OB/GYN.

"Hello, Rachel. How are you doing today?" the nice woman asked.

Rachel smiled. "I'm fine. I actually feel pretty good today."

Dr. Greenman smiled up at her. "And how is baby Berry?"

Rachel laid her hand on her stomach, unaware of how it molded her shirt to her baby bump, drawing attention from the ex-Cheerios at the next table. "She's perfectly fine too."

"She?" Dr. Greenman raised her eyebrow.

Chuckling, Rachel explained. "Brittany swears the baby's a girl. She's calling her Rainbow right now, but last week it was Butterfly."

Dr. Greenman laughed at that. "Well, you'll find out if it's a Rainbow next week hopefully, providing the baby cooperates."

Rachel nodded and took her doctor's order. When she placed it up for Henry, she found Santana's plate waiting for her. She carried it over and set it down in front of the other girl.

"Please check your burger and let me know if it's right," Rachel requested politely.

They were both staring up at her oddly but Rachel ignored that and waited until Santana had checked her burger.

"It's fine," she said, a strange smile on her face.

That smile sent a chill down Rachel's spine, but she smiled back at Santana and Quinn before leaving their table. When the two of them left a while later, Rachel headed over to their table to collect her tip so that the busboy wouldn't steal it (the one on duty had a tendency to do that). When she saw that it was just a nickel, she fought back a surge of annoyance. She had stopped at another table when she saw Quinn sneak back into the diner and drop something on the table that she had been sitting at. As soon as Rachel had finished with her customers, she went back over to the table. She was curious about what Quinn had left behind.

When she picked up the $20 bill, Rachel stared down at it in disbelief, and it hit her that the two of them must have overheard her conversation with Dr. Greenman. They knew about the baby (and Quinn was obviously sympathetic).

ooooo

Puck was pissed. He had left three messages for Brittany-one last night and two this morning-but she hadn't called him back. It was fucking important that she call him back because he needed to find Berry. He needed to find out whether or not she really was keeping it. If she was just going to give it up for adoption then he could probably return to his normal life, but if she decided to keep it, he'd need to stick around and help (_he wasn't his father_-he had a feeling he'd keep repeating that for a long time).

He was going to Mike's party tonight, so he would probably see Berry there. But he wouldn't be able to corner her because of all of their friends. He hardly wanted to come out as the person who gave her that bump in front of everyone before he talked to her. So at two, he found himself walking into the McDonald's where Brittany worked. He was going to confront her and get some information out of her.

He stepped up to the counter and before the girl at the register could ask, he said, "I'm here to see Brittany Nolan."

The girl nodded and as she hurried into the back, he smirked when she yelled to Brittany that there was a really cute guy here to see her. A few moments later, Brittany came up from the back with her usual sunny smile in place. When it faded the instant she saw him, he thought that it might be more difficult to get Berry's information out of her than he had hoped.

"Puck," she greeted him coldly, sounding a lot like Berry.

"Hey, Brittany." He paused, unsure where to start. He wasn't expecting such obvious resistance. "We need to talk about Berry."

Brittany nodded. "That's what I thought. Come on."

She led him outside and he realized that she didn't want to talk about this in front of the employees. When she reached one of the empty outdoor tables, she crossed her arms together for warmth and glared at him.

"Okay; I'm going to talk and you're going to listen," she declared.

Puck was surprised by the fury in her voice; Brittany was always so happy. He couldn't even remember the last time that he'd seen her mad.

"I'm not helping you get in touch with Rachel. She gave you plenty of chances to find out about the baby. In fact, she was desperate for you to call her back so that she could tell you about it. And yet you never bothered to call," Brittany stated.

Puck opened his mouth to defend himself (and even he knew that they'd be hollow excuses), but Brittany cut him off angrily.

"And don't say you were too busy or any of that crap; we both know that the only thing you were busy doing was screwing every girl within two miles of your dorm. Rachel came to you the day that she made the hardest choice she has ever had to make and you had security take her away. You have screwed up big time and I will not help you hurt her further."

Brittany seemed to be done, so Puck finally took his chance to say what he needed to. "I'm trying to make things right and get in touch with her. I need to know what's going on. So just give me her number. If she's keeping it, I'm going to stick around and do my job as the," he gulped here, "dad."

Brittany sneered at him in a way that reminded him of Santana. "Because every child wants to know that their dad considers raising them a job." She uncrossed her arms and poked him hard in the chest. "As far as that baby is concerned, I am the closest thing she has to a dad. I've been around when you couldn't be bothered. If you want to be involved, then you'll have to find Rachel on your own and convince her that you're worth the trouble. And don't you dare stress her out; if you stress Rachel and it hurts that baby, I will hunt you down and chop off your manly bits so that you never put someone else through what you've put Rachel through."

Puck stood there for a moment, completely stunned. Brittany was pissed at him and she was clearly deadly serious. It made him wonder yet again what had happened to Berry to make Brittany so protective.

"She's not living with her dads anymore. Does she at least have somewhere safe to stay?" He may not want the bump, but he kind of hated the thought that it and Berry were living on the street somewhere.

Brittany's expression softened. "Yes, both Rachel and the baby are perfectly safe."

He was surprised at the relief he felt to hear that. "Good."

Brittany's face hardened again and she added, "No thanks to you. I have to get back to work."

He watched as she disappeared into the restaurant. He mentally added another thing to his list.

9. Brittany is Berry's guard dog and she's _fucking scary_.

ooooo

"Hey Rachel, you can go on break," Henry called from the back. "I just finished your lunch."

Rachel looked over at Brent who waved her off in a sign that he had her tables. Estelle moved from the counter to one of the booths because Rachel always sat with her if she went on break while the older woman was in the diner. Rachel headed back into the kitchen and came to a stop behind Henry.

"So what do you have for me today?"

When Henry turned around and presented her with a plate, she blinked a couple of times and then a huge smile broke across her face.

"You made me a cheeseburger!" she squealed excitedly.

He grinned widely at her. "A source may have told me that you really wanted a cheeseburger."

"I'll have to thank Brittany for passing that along then," Rachel stated, raising an eyebrow at him.

He turned slightly pink. "Brittany? I don't know what she has to do with this."

While Rachel left the kitchen, she laughed. The two of them weren't fooling her at all. She circled the counter and sat down with Estelle. The woman was telling her about her youngest son's attempts to teach his one year old to say Daddy (apparently he shouted Mommy every time that he was prompted) and Rachel was giggling when someone came to a stop next to their table.

"Berry."

Rachel's laughter died instantly and she looked up at Noah. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk about the thing," he said, gesturing at her stomach. "I want to know what you're doing about it."

She felt a surge of annoyance and glanced at Estelle, who pointedly picked up the little card that listed the desserts the diner serves.

"I don't want to talk to you Noah. You had your chance," she stated sharply, taking a bite of her burger.

Noah scowled at her. "Are you sure you should eat that? Shouldn't you try to be healthy now for the...it?"

Her fury rising, Rachel swallowed her bite and glared up at him. "I haven't had a cheeseburger since I found out about the baby, something that you would have known if you had called me back even once. I am very healthy."

"I'm here now to help you with it," he announced.

Rachel had started trembling in anger. She slid out of the booth and stood at her full height, nose to chest with him. Raising her head to meet his eyes, she rested her hands protectively over the tiny bump where her baby rested. "Guess what Noah? This is a baby. She is not an it or a thing. And until you can say the word baby without breaking into hives, let alone say it at all, I don't want to hear anything that you have to say. Please leave."

He scowled back at her. "I won't..."

"She said leave," Brent cut in, his arms crossed over his chest so that the muscles in them stood out in sharp relief.

"Is there a problem?" Henry called, poking his head out of the kitchen.

"No," Puck answered through gritted teeth, not taking his eyes off of Rachel. "I was just leaving. But this isn't over Berry; I'm not just going to fucking go away."

Rachel just waved her hand at the door, dismissing him. As soon as he was out of sight, Rachel dropped back into the booth and buried her face in her hands.

"Are you okay, dear?" Estelle asked from her seat across the table.

Rachel raised her head to meet the older woman's gaze. "I'm fine."

Estelle clearly didn't believe her but she didn't push the issue. Rachel had given Noah his chance, so why couldn't he just leave her alone? He'd made it clear that he wasn't interested the day she drove down to his dorm.

*****

_Monday, October 22, 2012_

As soon as Rachel had fled the clinic, she had hopped into her car and left New York. She should probably head back to school, but she knew that she was going to have to withdraw, so there was no point anymore. She wasn't sure where she was headed, but she had just changed her life forever and she needed to get out of town.

When she pulled onto the Ohio State campus late that night, she knew that she had subconsciously made the choice to come to Noah and tell him about the baby. Hopefully he couldn't just ignore her when he had to look at her. Checking her rearview mirror, she saw that she looked positively hideous. Her eyes were red (she had cried most of the drive though never hard enough to affect her safety), her hair had come loose from her ponytail, and her normally flawless skin was blotchy (not to mention the shadows under her eyes. All in all, her outside appearance was just as disorganized and messy as her emotions were right now.

Brittany had given Rachel Puck's dorm name and his room number last weekend in case she decided to drive down and tell him about the baby. Rachel checked a nearby campus directory and made her way to his dorm. She entered the hallway and followed it until she found his room. She could hear the music coming from behind the door. When she knocked, it shut off and she heard footsteps cross the room. Then there was just silence. The door didn't open and the music never came back on.

Rachel felt the tears again. Puck was clearly the one in the room because his roommate wouldn't know who she is and probably would have opened the door. Puck was clearly pretending he wasn't home in hopes that she would go away though. Rachel sighed and took a seat on the floor across from his room, resting her back against the wall. He had to leave sometime and when he did she'd just blurt out that she's pregnant. It may not be a gentle way to tell him about the baby, but at least it would get the truth out there so that he'd have to deal with it.

She had been sitting there for about an hour when two campus security guards approached her.

"Ma'am, you'll have to come with us."

She stood up and stretched. "Why?"

"We've received a complaint from one of the students that you have been harassing him. We have to put our students' safety first."

Rachel blinked as her nausea stirred up. "What? I've not been harassing anyone."

"Please come with us," one of the guards said, wrapping a hand around her upper arm and pulling her down the hall.

"You don't understand," she pleaded, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm not crazy; I'm pregnant and he's the dad but he won't return my calls and he needs to know."

"Whatever you say miss," the other guard stated patronizingly as they led her to the main parking lot. "Please take us to your car; we have to see you completely off campus."

Crying silently and fighting back the urge to throw up, Rachel led them to her Prius. They stood in the parking lot and watched her until she pulled onto the road that would lead her off campus. She pulled into the nearest fast food place and ran to the bathroom. After she had finished emptying her stomach (which didn't have very much in it to begin with), she stepped out and rinsed her mouth out. When she looked up and caught sight of herself in the mirror, a deep dread hit her. Puck had security escort her off campus. He clearly didn't want anything to do with her or the baby. And if her fathers disowned her as she feared they would (she still held a small shred of hope that they would accept her decision and love her anyway), she was going to be raising her baby completely on her own.

Thank God for Brittany. Hopefully she wasn't lying when she said that she would support Rachel no matter her decision.  


Rachel had decided that day that she didn't need Puck's help. She was terrified over something that he was every bit as responsible for as she was and he had treated her like some crazy stalker. She was struggling right now, yes, but she wasn't going to let Puck near their baby until he could accept that she was going to be a little person with feelings. She would protect Rainbow from anyone who might hurt her, even her father if he couldn't treat her right.

Secretly though, she hoped that he would get his act together and accept their baby because both she and Rainbow could use his support (Brittany shouldn't have to carry his share although she was sweet for doing so).


	5. Chapter 4

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Updates will soon slow down because I'm going to start working two jobs plus school full time so that'll leave very little time for writing. I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far. This is probably the story that I've been the most excited about and I just love reading what ya'll think. The last flashbacks are in this chapter, so from here on out I'll focus on the present (and, ya know, Puck's groveling). Flashbacks are again separated from the rest of the story by asterisks, in italics, and headed by the dates on which the events in question occurred. I would also like to warn that there is still discussion of abortion in this chapter; all feelings expressed on the subject will be based on what I think the characters in question would believe about the option. Also, please don't hate me when you read the ending; it had to happen to move the story along correctly. As always, please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

"What's taking you so long Rachel?" Brittany asked, shoving the door open and poking her head into Rachel's bedroom.

Rachel glanced over at her and sighed dramatically. "I look fat in everything I own. Maybe I should just stay home."

Rachel was standing in front of her closet in her lowcut panties (they rode under the baby bump, so yay for that) and bra glaring at the articles of clothing inside as if they had all personally offended her. She was quite sure that tiny red dress she had bought for her graduation party was mocking her, and her skirts were clearly whispering about her every time she turned her back on them. And forget the button up blouses; they were just cowering in terror that she'd try to wear one of them and pop a button off.

"They're all laughing at me," Rachel muttered with a dark scowl.

Brittany entered the room and came to stand next to Rachel, but instead of staring into the closet as she was, the blonde stared down at her, confusion clear on her face and in her voice.

"But we haven't even left the apartment yet. How can anyone be laughing at you?"

Rachel frowned up at her. "Not the people; my clothes." She gestured at the open closet, turning to glower at her favorite green sweater which was just hanging there insolently, looking all small and clingy.

When Brittany started laughing so hard that she was holding her stomach, Rachel reached over and smacked her as hard as she could on the arm.

"It's not funny," she pouted petulantly.

"Yes, yes, it is Rachel," Brittany managed between giggles, wiping a tear from her eye. "Oh God, I can't remember the last time that I laughed so hard."

Rachel turned her glare from the little black dress that she had worn for her orientation at Juilliard to Brittany.

"I'm so glad that my physical deformity is so amusing to you." She crossed her arms over her chest angrily.

Brittany held up a hand as she calmed down. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. If you could have seen and heard yourself just now you would have laughed too."

Looking at Brittany wasn't helping Rachel's mood at all. The tall, willowy blonde was dressed in a pair of skinny dark blue jeans and a form-fitting red halter top that clung to her curves and revealed two inches of flat, tan stomach above the waistband of her jeans. The outfit was set off by the spiky heels that she had on. Sure, it was November, but everyone knew that when going to a party you dressed to keep cool.

"Come on, Rach, I'm sure you have something in here that you'll look hot in," Brittany announced, brushing Rachel aside. "You've got that glowy pregnant woman thing going on; you should accent the bump instead of trying to hide it. And you most definitely are not fat."

Rachel scoffed. "I don't know that I own anything that'll be comfortable. I could swear my waistline has increased just over the last day."

Brittany muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'That's what happens when you eat cheeseburgers and fries' (Rachel narrowed her eyes at the blonde), but when she spoke to Rachel, she said, "I'm sure you're just overreacting."

Rachel huffed but stayed silent. She was quite sure that Brittany wasn't going to find anything.

"Aha!" Brittany called triumphantly several minutes later, grabbing something from the back of the closet. "I found something."

Sitting up on the bed (she had collapsed onto her back in defeat), Rachel glanced over at Brittany to see that she was holding up a dress that Rachel had forgotten she owned. It had a white silk top with cap sleeves and a deep blue velvet skirt that she remembered fell to right above her knees. Best of all, it had an...

"Empire waist," Brittany stated happily. "The dress will probably cling to Daffodil but it'll also be comfortable since the waist of the dress is above your baby bump."

Rachel had to admit that she liked that idea. If she was comfortable in the dress, she'd feel a lot prettier too. She hopped up and took the dress from her roommate. She wasted no time pulling it over her head and down over her body. When she looked down at herself, she saw that Brittany had been right; the dress emphasized the baby bump without squeezing it the way her work skirt had yesterday. And the sweetheart neckline brought out her brand new cleavage (her boobs had grown some and she knew that she'd miss them once they shrunk back to normal size later on). Then she realized what Brittany had said.

"Daffodil?" she asked curiously.

Brittany grinned. "It's Sunday; time for a name change. I'm trying out Daffodil this week."

Rachel shook her head and walked to the bathroom so that she could put on her makeup and curl her hair (she had showered immediately after she got home from the diner). She remembered the first time that Brittany had named the baby.

*****

_Tuesday, October 23, 2012_

"I'm sorry Rachel, but I have to ask; have you talked to your dads yet?" Brittany questioned, piling ketchup onto her hashbrowns.

After Rachel had been escorted off Puck's campus the previous night and after her detour to throw up, she had driven straight to Brittany's; she had needed someone who supported her and she'd prayed that Brittany had meant it when she said that she would. It had been after midnight by the time she had knocked on the door to the blonde's apartment, but Rachel was entirely too hysterical to care. It had taken a couple of minutes, but Brittany, unlike Puck, had opened her door and ushered Rachel inside even though Rachel had clearly woken her up. Brittany had calmed her down and gotten the main points of the previous day out of her: the fact that she hadn't been able to go through with the abortion and the fact that Puck had ignored her and reported her to campus security. Rachel had cried herself to sleep in Brittany's arms and woken up this morning in her bed; when she had headed to the kitchen for a glass of water, she had found Brittany fast asleep on the couch and felt bad for inconveniencing her like she had.

After Brittany had woken, she had set Rachel up to take a shower and brush her teeth (Brittany had a spare toothbrush; apparently she stole extras every time she went to the dentist). Now they were sitting in Barb's Diner eating breakfast (with no syrup in sight), Rachel in the extra (ill-fitting) clothing that Brittany had lent her.

Rachel sighed and poked at her scrambled eggs with her fork. "No, I haven't. They still think I went through with it, I'm sure; I had told them when my appointment was. It's just that after everything that happened yesterday..." She shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you saw the state I was in by the time I got into town last night."

Brittany nodded sympathetically. Her forkful of hashbrowns was halfway to her mouth when she paused. "If you want the baby to be healthy, you need to eat your eggs, not just push them around Rachel."

Rachel made a face at her but took a hearty bite anyway. They ate in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts before Brittany spoke again.

"Do you want me to come with you when you tell your dads?"

Rachel hesitated before answering; that seemed like a lot to ask of her new friend. "I would love it if you would, but you don't have to if you don't want to. It's not going to be a pleasant experience. If you could at least wait outside in the car though, that would help me feel like I have at least one person in my corner."

Brittany tilted her head thoughtfully. "What do you think your dads are going to do when they find out that you're keeping the baby?"

Rachel finished spreading her strawberry preserves on her toast before she answered. "A part of me really hopes that they love me enough to accept my decision and be there for their grandchild. Mostly though, I expect that they're going to disown me and cut off any support. That's why I'm not too worried about the fact that I'm currently skipping classes. If they cut off my financial support, I won't be able to afford school, not even to finish out the semester since I'll need to get a job and my practice schedule doesn't allow time for that." She dropped her head into her hands as the full impact of it all hit her. "I'm going to have to drop out of school and get a job or I won't be able to eat. Oh, God, I'm going to be homeless. I can't afford a deposit on an apartment; I don't have enough money saved up."

Rachel could feel herself starting to hyperventilate again. Had she made a terrible mistake yesterday? What good would she be for her baby if she couldn't even provide shelter?

"Breathe, Rach, breathe." Brittany's soothing voice broke through her panic. "You'll have to get a job, yes, but you won't be homeless."

Rachel looked up at that. What was she talking about?

Brittany smiled at her. "My apartment is actually a two bedroom you know; my computer's in the second one right now, but you can move in if you want."

Rachel was touched by that. "I don't want to be a hassle, especially since there'll be a baby too in a few months."

Brittany was already shaking her head. "It's not a problem. I'll just move my desk and computer into the living room and we'll move you right in. You and Pixie are welcome to stay with me as long as you need; we'll halve the bills, so things will actually be easier on me too money-wise."

Rachel was stunned that Brittany was being so very generous to her and chose to focus on the stranger part of what she had said. "Wait a second. Did you just name my baby Pixie?"

Brittany's head bobbed up and down enthusiastically. "You're having a girl; I just know it. So I'm going to try out some happy girl names before the baby gets here. I have a whole list of them."

Her laughter rang clearly through the restaurant as Rachel managed to choke out around her giggles, "I'm not naming my baby Pixie."  


Finished with her hair and makeup, Rachel dropped her brush back onto the counter and took in her final appearance in the mirror. She was quite happy with it even if she didn't see the same glow that Brittany claimed to see.

"Are you ready yet Rachel?" Brittany called from the living room. "We're gonna be late, even for a party, if we don't leave soon."

Rachel left the bathroom, flipping off the light switch and stopped in her bedroom for her shoes. She really hoped tonight went well.

ooooo

Puck had barely stepped into Mike's house when Santana wrapped her hand around his arm and dragged him over to the rest of the former glee club members. When she deposited him next to Mike, he looked around the group and saw that he wasn't the only one fucking confused by her behavior. Every other gleek, aside from Finn, Brittany, and Berry, was standing there watching Santana with various degrees of confusion on their faces (except for Quinn who just looked uncomfortable).

"What the fuck Santana?" he voiced the question that everyone else was wondering.

She sneered at him. "I normally wouldn't answer that question but since everyone is here now I was going to tell you my gossip anyway."

Puck could practically see Kurt and Mercedes start to salivate at the mention of gossip. He just felt slightly queasy because he had a feeling he knew what that gossip was given two of the members who were missing.

"Wait," Mike interrupted Santana, who had just opened her mouth. "Rachel, Brittany, and Finn are missing."

Santana scowled. "I know, but given that the gossip is about Manhands, it's best if she's not here. And from what Quinn and I heard, Brittany already knows. And I bet that Finn's the one responsible."

"Don't keep us waiting," Kurt prodded her. "What did you find out about Berry?"

"Quinn and I went into Barb's Diner for lunch today and guess who served us?"

Puck's nausea grew; he was afraid of this. The others just shrugged.

"That's right; Rachel Berry is working as a waitress in the diner. She's not at Juilliard at all," Santana stated triumphantly.

The reactions of the other gleeks were somewhat varied. Artie and Tina didn't look at all surprised (he wondered if Berry had told them everything-given that they weren't trying to kill him, he guessed she had left his part in the situation out), Mike also showed no surprise at this news (and that wasn't exactly surprising given his close relationship with Brittany), Matt was clearly shocked though, and Kurt and Mercedes looked like they'd just been handed an early Christmas gift.

Santana grinned maliciously. "But that's not the biggest news, oh no. The most shocking part of what we learned is that..."

"Santana, I don't feel right about this," Quinn broke in, shocking everyone. "You shouldn't do this."

Puck was surprised to hear Quinn sticking up for Berry, but then again he figured that she understood what Berry was going through, given that he had knocked her up while they were still in school.

Santana ignored Quinn and blurted out. "Manhands is pregnant."

The reaction throughout the group this time was uniform. Every single face reflected shock. Puck tried to mimic the look; he didn't want to fucking give himself away.

"Who do you think the dad is?" Kurt asked in a whisper, glancing around at the other party guests.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Who do you think it is? Do you really think anyone other than Finn would be willing to have sex with that wreck?"

Puck fought back annoyance at that. What the hell was wrong with fucking Berry? She was hot, crazy and pregnant or not. And really, Finn _again?_ He frowned. Well at least nobody suspected him.

"But he's been in Illinois," Kurt pointed out.

Santana scoffed. "Stubbles is already showing, so she probably got knocked up over the summer."

"Are you sure that Finn's the dad?" Matt asked in confusion. "I've kept in touch with him and he never mentioned anything about it."

Puck shifted uncomfortably, knocking his arm into Mike, who turned to look at him. He really wanted to tell them that Finn wasn't the dad; he may not want to claim the bump, but he also didn't want fucking Finn claiming it either. He nearly opened his mouth to say that Finn definitely wasn't the dad, butluckily Mercedes spoke before he could (and out himself to everyone).

"Ooh, maybe Rachel's kept it a secret from him," she said, her eyes glowing at the thought of scandal.

Kurt's expression turned hopeful. "Or maybe Finn's not the Dad at all; maybe she had a one night stand after she got to school and she doesn't even know who the dad is."

Puck frowned and nearly spoke up again but this time it was Artie who cut him off.

"Rachel's not the type of girl who would have a one night stand. At least not with a stranger; she'd have to know the guy first," he added to the conversation, Tina nodding enthusiastically next to him.

"I don't think we should be talking about this," Quinn broke in, still looking extremely awkward about the conversation. "It's really none of our business."

Again Puck was surprised to hear Quinn defending Berry's privacy; he wondered what she'd think if she found out that he was the one who had knocked up Berry. Quinn got her way this time because Berry and Brittany came into view at that moment. He had to admit that Berry was damn pretty with her soft brown curls and her big brown eyes shining brightly. The dress that she was wearing was more girly than the clothing she normally wore and it clung to the bump of her stomach. There was no denying that she was pregnant.

"Holy shit," Mike muttered next to him. "She really is knocked up."

While the others headed over to her (except for Santana and Quinn who went to the kitchen instead), Mike turned to Puck.

"What in the hell did you do?"

Puck was shocked by that. "What?"

"Oh, come on, dude. You looked like you wanted to hit someone when Santana said that Finn was the dad. You're actually the father of Rachel's baby, aren't you? You wouldn't be pissed off over the dad debate if you weren't," Mike explained matter of factly.

"Keep it to yourself dude," Puck hissed at him, checking to make sure no one had overheard them.

Mike glared up at him. "Do you even care that Berry's carrying your kid?"

Puck scowled at him. "I haven't exactly handled the situation well so Berry's pissed off at me right now. She's not letting me anywhere near her or the thing."

Mike punched him really hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "Dude, you just called her baby a thing so I don't blame her. If you plan on stepping up you'll have to try a lot harder than that."

With that advice, Mike walked off to join Berry and Brittany.

What sucked was that Puck _was_ fucking trying.

ooooo

Shortly after she and Brittany had entered Mike's house and the party that was in full swing, they spotted all of the glee members gathered together and Rachel knew that her secret was out. That was confirmed for her when all of them but Santana, Quinn, Mike, and Puck (and Finn, who wasn't even with the group) descended upon her.

"Wow, you really are pregnant!" Tina exclaimed, reaching her and giving her a quick hug.

Artie shook his head. "Why didn't you tell us in one of your e-mails?"

Matt frowned. "I just thought that Santana was being a bitch and didn't really know, but she was right; you are showing."

Kurt and Mercedes gazed at Rachel, identical expressions of curiosity on their faces, and she felt a shiver of dread.

"So, who's the dad?" Kurt asked.

"Is it Finn like Santana said?" Mercedes added.

Rachel stared back at them in disbelief. "What?" _Where on Earth had Santana gotten that idea?  
_  
Before she could respond, a familiar male voice behind her said, "Hey, I just heard my name."

Rachel turned around and saw that Finn had just arrived at the party. He looked just as good as he always had, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that she didn't hold any lingering feelings for him. She was still happy to see him though; he was one of her best friends after all.

"Finn!" she yelled, throwing her arms around him.

He hugged her tightly to him and then he pulled back and stared down at her stomach.

"You're pregnant," he noted blankly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I am."

He met her eyes. "Is it mine?"

Rachel laughed at that. "Finn, we haven't had sex since May."

He was still staring at her blankly so, laughing harder, she clarified. "I got pregnant at the end of August. There's no way that the baby could be yours."

Relief flashed across his face and he sighed. "Oh thank God. Not that I wouldn't have been there for you if the baby was mine," he hastened to add, "but I'm very glad that it's not."

Rachel nodded. "I understand Finn and I have no doubt that you would have manned up if you were the dad."

"Wait," Mercedes interrupted. "If Finn's not the dad, then who is?"

Rachel frowned. Mike had joined the group while she was talking to Finn and Puck was headed their way. As he came to a stop next to Mike, Brittany fielded the question from next to her.

"Oh, it's just some jerk that she thought she could trust. He didn't return her calls though, so he's not a factor in the baby's life," she responded.

Disappointed that they wouldn't get any good gossip, Kurt and Mercedes took off. Puck scowled at Rachel and Brittany before taking the hint in Brittany's words and Rachel's expression and leaving them alone with their friends. Before he left though, he mouthed to Rachel, 'This isn't over' (she glanced around at the others and was greatly relieved to see that they weren't looking at Puck). Rachel, Britt, Mike, Matt, Finn, Tina, and Artie went to one of the empty couches and sat down on it and some of the nearby chairs.

"So," Rachel started. "What's Texas like?" she asked Mike. She wanted to take attention off of herself; what the others were up to was every bit as important as her news.

Her plan worked as Mike started to tell them all about the dorm mixup the college had made and how he had thought that he would be homeless. While his words washed over her, Rachel could feel her attention drifting.

*****

_Tuesday, October 23, 2012_

Rachel knocked on her dads' front door. She knew that neither of them went in on Tuesday mornings; they had both arranged to have it off with their offices so that they could spend the time together, just the two of them. Two minutes later, no one had answered the door yet.

"Maybe they're not home," Brittany offered from next to her.

Rachel shook her head. "No, I'm sure that we're just interrupting their private time. As soon as they get dressed, they'll answer the door."

She was very nervous about what she was here to do. She had come here today to tell her parents that she was keeping the baby and she knew they weren't going to respond well to the news. Rachel was just really relieved that Brittany had decided to come with her. After another couple of minutes of silence, the door swung open.

"Rachel!" Dad greeted her in surprise. "Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

Rachel nodded. "Probably, but I need to talk to you and Daddy. Can we come in?"

He nodded and moved aside. She headed for the living room, where she could hear the TV running and Dad and Brittany followed her. When she arrived, Daddy greeted her and Dad sat down in his chair. Brittany plopped down on the couch. When Rachel looked at her, the blonde gave her an encouraging smile so Rachel took a deep breath.

"I need to talk to you about the abortion," she started, but Daddy interrupted her.

"Rachel the whole point of the abortion was to return your life to normal. We don't ever need to mention that unpleasantness ever again."

Okay, so they were clearly going to make this more difficult than she had hoped for. She tried again.

"I understand that, but..."

"Really, Rachel, we would prefer not to discuss your mistake. It's gone now so..." Dad cut her off.

"I didn't do it!" she shouted over him.

Dad stopped talking and they both stared at her. Brittany reached up from her spot on the couch and slipped her hand into Rachel's, providing her with support.

"You don't know how disappointed that makes us, Rachel," Daddy said. "We thought we had this all figured out."

"After all the time and effort we've put into your future to think that you would throw it all away so easily." Dad shook his head. "You're going to waste your life and we don't want our fingerprints on that."

Rachel could feel the tears flowing down her cheeks. "What are you saying Dad?"

His face was carefully blank when he answered her. "From this moment forward, you are no longer our daughter. We will not support you because you can't be trusted to make the right choices with your life."

Brittany squeezed Rachel's hand. "Mr. Berrys, Rachel's your daughter. Surely you love her enough to support her."

Dad frowned in response but otherwise ignored Brittany. "Get whatever clothing you left in your room and get out of our house. You can also keep whatever you took to school with you."

Rachel looked away from Dad to Daddy, his form blurring through her tears. "Daddy?"

He scowled at her. "Leave your car; the title's in our name, so we own it."

Rachel was frozen, so Brittany pulled her from the room. "Let's go upstairs and pack."

Rachel shook her head. "I took everything to school with me. I didn't leave any clothing here."

Her hand still clasped tightly around Rachel's, Brittany led her from the house. When Rachel threw up in the middle of the front yard on the way to Brittany's car (they had brought both cars just in case), the blonde held her hair back until she was finished and murmured calming words.

"I've got the rest of today and tomorrow off, so I'll drive you up to New York to get your stuff and withdraw from school," Brittany offered later as she started the car. "And then we'll look for a car for you that we can afford and some furniture for your bedroom and move you into my apartment."

Rachel nodded, resting her forehead against the cool glass of the passenger side window and watching the scenery in a blur of tears. She really hoped she had made the right choice (and in her heart, she knew she had).  


She had withdrawn from Juilliard the next day and moved into Brittany's apartment. She had applied at the diner just a couple of days later and quickly fallen into her new life. She still missed her dads, even with everything that had happened, but it got easier with time. It also helped that she hadn't seen them except for the one time that they had come by the diner (she hadn't been to temple since she moved back; she knew that she'd see her dads there and Puck's mom, and she hadn't been ready for that).

"Are you okay Rachel?" Finn asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing.

She grinned up at him. "I'm fine. So, have you been dating any of the girls at school?"

Finn blushed and she knew that was a yes. While he told them all about his new girlfriend and the others teased him, Rachel realized just how very much she had missed her friends.

ooooo

Puck was pissed. Everywhere he went in this party it seemed like all anyone was talking about was Berry's bump and who the father was. Everyone seemed to think that it was either Finn, Mike, Matt, or some stranger that she had met at school. Brittany's words about how the guy couldn't be trusted and how he hadn't returned her calls had also circulated, so most people seemed to have settled on the stranger from school theory. So, Puck was fucking pissed.

When he saw Berry head to the bathroom, he followed and waited outside until she emerged.

"You can't keep fucking ignoring me, Berry," he said, startling her.

She quickly shut all emotion from her eyes and gazed up at him. "Why not? You didn't have any trouble ignoring me."

Without even waiting for him to respond, she walked away. Before he could follow, Brittany joined her and scowled darkly at him. Shit, he was never going to get near Berry between Britt and the diner guys.

His temper was near the surface when he went into the kitchen. He was going to grab a beer; he hadn't drank since the night that he and Aiden were busted for it, but he felt like he needed it tonight if he had to watch Berry and her bump from afar. He was headed to the keg when Santana grabbed his arm and turned him around.

"So how about we head upstairs to one of the bedrooms?" she asked, pressing herself to him and nibbling on his jaw.

He shoved her away. "Fuck no."

Ignoring the way Kurt and Mercedes were watching the two of them, he reached the keg and started to pour himself a beer.

"What the hell is wrong with you tonight?" Santana asked furiously. "You're acting like a complete dick. And you haven't tried to nail anyone yet." She ran her hand up his arm. "We're really good together, Puck. You've never turned me down before."

Puck shook her off. "Not fucking interested."

He entered the living room, Santana right behind him, and Kurt and Mercedes right behind her. He came to a stop when he saw Berry laughing at something that Finn was saying, his hand on the bump of her stomach. That wasn't fucking fair; that was his bump and he hadn't even touched it yet so why in the fuck did Finn get to?

Santana followed his gaze to Berry. "According to Kurt, the baby's not Finn's. Manhands said that she got pregnant in August and that the guy was a douche who didn't return her calls; of course, who could blame him? No one would want to be tied to her or her spawn for life."

Puck scowled at her and fiercely said, "Shut the fuck up Santana."

He realized that he had gone too far when Santana's eyes widened as she stared up at him. A broad, malicious smile spread across her face. "Holy shit, you're the one who knocked her up."

"Santana," he growled out in warning, turning his eyes back to Berry and praying she wouldn't hear (he knew it would just piss her off and that wouldn't help his cause at all).

"I can't believe this!" she crowed loudly; the people around them quieted down. "Oh, this is just too good." She turned to Kurt and Mercedes. "Can you believe it? Puck knocked up Stubbles!"

Her voice had clearly carried across the room because Berry went still and looked over at them, horror on her face. The others that she was sitting with had also quieted and then he watched them all start to talk at once although he couldn't hear what they were saying. Her expression was fucking scary when she stood up and stalked toward him.

ooooo

"Puck knocked up Stubbles!"

When Rachel heard Santana yell those words, she went completely still. _Please, please let her have been hearing things_. She looked in the direction the words had come from and saw Puck standing there, his eyes on her, with Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes. Oh no, everyone would know the truth now and she hadn't wanted anyone but Brittany to know. She was only aware that her friends had stopped talking when they suddenly started talking all at once.

"Puck?" Finn asked.

"Is Puck really the dad?" Artie and Tina questioned at the same time.

"When did you even sleep with Puck?" Matt wondered out loud.

Mike frowned at them all. "You're not making things better."

"_Puck?!_" Finn repeated in confusion.

Furious, Rachel stood up; she was going to kill him, that's all there was to it. He had given up his rights to the baby ages ago so what gave him the right to tell Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes, of all people, the truth about the baby?

She paused in front of him. "Outside, now."

Then she spun on her heel and marched to the front door. Shortly after Rachel came to a stop on the front lawn, Brittany and Puck both followed her out. Puck stopped in front of her, but Brittany took up a supportive spot behind her.

Rachel's whole body was shaking violently as she marched up to Puck and poked him in the chest. "I don't know what in the heck you were thinking in telling Santana that you're my baby's dad, but this changes nothing."

He glowered at her. "I didn't tell Santana a damn thing. But what in the hell did you think you were doing letting Finn touch it?"

Rachel flinched as a small twinge ran through her stomach. "He calls my baby a baby, so he's allowed near her because I know that he won't hurt her like you would."

"How the fuck do you know that I would hurt it? You can't know because you won't let me get close to it!" he yelled at her.

Rachel opened her mouth to argue, but instead felt a sharp pain rush over her. Clutching her stomach, she doubled over and Puck reached out and grabbed her shoulders to hold her steady while Brittany rushed forward.

"Brittany," she gasped out.

"I'm taking you to the hospital Rach," Brittany said, panic clear in her voice.

When another sharp pain racked her abdomen, she started to cry. While Brittany loaded her into her car, she wasn't even aware of Noah climbing into the back seat. She was too busy praying.

_Please let my baby be safe. Please let her be safe._

A/N 2: So now you have all of the flashbacks of how Rachel came to live with Brittany. Again, don't hate me for the ending; it had to happen and it's all part of the plan.


	6. Chapter 5

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far. This is probably the story that I've been the most excited about and I just love reading what ya'll think. So now that the flashbacks are out of the way and everyone knows about both the baby and Puck being the dad, time will probably start moving a bit more quickly but I will still hit the important points. I just realized that I've not even covered a full two days, so I have to pick up the pace if I plan to follow to the baby's birth. As always, please let me know what you think! Thanks!

November 18, 2012

Puck was sitting in the waiting area of the hospital emergency room. They had taken Berry into the back over an hour ago, and he hadn't heard anything since. Brittany had gone with her, but apparently she didn't think that he fucking deserved to know what was going on. He was just about fucking sick and tired of waiting.

He couldn't really understand why he was so pissed. He had taken off voluntarily just yesterday when he found out about the bump, so the practical response would be to be happy that he may not have to face the terrifying prospect of being a dad (and with Berry no less), but he wasn't happy at all. Instead, he couldn't focus on anything but the fact that he hadn't heard a word about Berry's condition. How could Brittany just leave him hanging like this? Didn't she realize that he was_ fucking worried?_

_Probably not_. Why would she? He hadn't exactly been supportive of Berry.

He got up from the hard seat where he had been sitting since they took Berry into the back. He wasn't about to just fucking wait for information anymore. If nothing else, his mom was due to go on duty in fifteen minutes and she could get him information although that would require the super awkward explanation of why he needed to know how Berry was doing in the first place. He'd be best to see if he could get the information first without telling his mom. He hoped to just avoid her when she came in; if he knew anything about Berry and Brittany it was that they wouldn't tell his mother that he was the dad. Hell, Berry didn't want to tell anyone that he was the dad; she'd made that clear tonight.

He crossed to the nurse's station and the woman seated there looked up.

"How can I help you sir?"

He leaned on the counter. "I need some information on a patient that came in an hour ago. I've been waiting since she was brought in, but no one's given me an update on how she's doing."

The nurse nodded. "Okay. What's her name?"

"Rachel Berry. She's pregnant and she was brought in with stomach pains," he said, trying not to focus on the way that she had doubled over or how she had cried the whole way to the hospital. He definitely didn't want to think about the fact that he had to carry her inside the hospital because she was in too much fucking pain to walk.

"What is your relationship to the patient?" she asked, staring up at him.

He frowned. "I'm not related to the patient but I am the father of her..." he trailed off.

"Her baby?" the nurse finished for him.

He nodded.

"I'll let the doctor know that you're out here and would like an update," the nurse said, standing up and walking into the back area of the hospital where they had taken Berry.

Rather than go sit down in the waiting area again, Puck stayed right there at the nurse's station. He was determined not to be ignored; he wanted answers and he was going to get them.

While he was waiting, his cell phone rang. When he saw Mike's name on the display, he answered it.

"What?" he greeted the other guy.

"Geez, you're in a good mood," Mike responded. "Where are you? And do you know where Rach and Britt are? We haven't seen them since Rach hauled you outside."

Puck sighed. "We're at the hospital. While we were arguing, Berry started having stomach pains."

"Crap. How is she? How's the baby? Are they okay?" Mike fired the questions off at him quickly.

"I don't fucking know," Puck answered. "They haven't told me a fucking thing since they hauled Berry off an hour ago. I haven't seen Brittany since then either because they let her go with Berry since she's apparently her emergency contact."

Puck quieted down but Mike didn't say anything to him. Instead, Puck heard him say 'Yeah, I got Puck. He said that Rachel's in the hospital and Britt's with her.' He heard someone else saying something, but he couldn't tell what before Mike said 'Okay. I'll drive; I haven't had anything to drink.'

Then Mike came back on the line. "Some of us are coming over there; my brother's here, so I can leave the house. See if you can find a doctor or something. As the dad, you're bound to have rights to know if Rachel's lost the baby."

Then Mike hung up, so Puck shut his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. She could have lost the baby; it was so real to hear Mike say it. _Where in the hell was the doctor?_

Just when he thought that he was going to go into the back of the hospital anyway, a doctor came out of the door followed by the nurse that he had talked to earlier.

"Are you the man claiming to be the father of Miss Berry's baby?" he asked Puck, coming to a stop in front of him.

Puck nodded. "It's not a claim; it's the truth."

The doctor frowned. "The scary blonde girl who came in with the patient said that the dad was uninvolved in the baby's life when I asked if she needed to call anyone. Wait, aren't you Dani's son?"

Puck didn't hear that question. He was too focused on the rest of it. Damn Brittany. He should have known that she would make it difficult for him.

"Whether or not I've been involved shouldn't matter; I have the right to know if my baby is still alive," Puck demanded forcefully, crossing his arms and flexing them so that the doctor would see the threat. He wasn't above getting physical if he had to.

Before the doctor could speak again, Brittany's voice sounded from behind him.

"It's okay Dr. Felds; I'll handle him. Rachel's got a few questions for you and the nurse told me to send you back since I was coming out here anyway."

The doctor faced her and then nodded, heading toward the back. Brittany took his place in front of Puck, her own arms crossed.

"Okay, I'm going to talk because I have a few things to pass along to you for Rachel. First off, she wanted me to tell you that the baby is okay. Apparently she got too stressed out between Santana telling everyone that you're the dad and you yelling at her and that caused her cramping. Because I got her here so quickly, they were able to save the baby and they should both be fine. They're monitoring the baby's heartbeat and they just did an ultrasound and didn't see anything wrong," Brittany smiled slightly and Puck was a little jealous that she had gotten to see the baby's ultrasound. "In fact, they said that the baby looked perfectly healthy."

Puck felt relief rush over him. He may not have wanted the baby, but he was very happy that Berry hadn't lost it. "That's good."

Brittany nodded. "The other thing that she wanted me to tell you is that she's giving you a free pass."

Those words confused him. "What in the hell does that mean?"

"It means that you're free to walk away from her and the baby and pretend that neither of them exist without feeling badly about it. She feels that tonight's incident proves that your presence in their lives isn't healthy and she'll do anything to protect Daffodil; we both will. She wanted me to tell you that you aren't your father. You tried instead of running, but it's clearly not going to work. So you're free to go back to your own life and pretend that nothing ever happened," Brittany explained. "You're getting what every guy facing an unplanned pregnancy wants; you get to walk away with Rachel's full blessings."

Puck heard the words and he knew that he should feel happy, but for some reason he didn't. Berry was giving him the one thing that he wanted most; a life free of her and the baby. He should be fucking ecstatic, but he wasn't sure he wanted the free pass now. If one thing had hit him with tonight's events, it was that Berry was carrying a real baby-his baby who would someday grow up to be a little boy or girl who walked and talked, who would eventually want to learn how to ride a bike, and who would go to school and so many other things. So of course tonight would be the night that Berry would not get mad, but rather tell him that he wasn't like his father and give him a fucking free pass. It would be easier to ignore her request if she was just pissed at him, but if she really thought that he was causing the stress that risked her losing the baby, then he couldn't ignore that. If it really was the best thing, then he would have to walk away for his baby's sake.

Brittany was still watching him for his reaction to Berry's words.

"Did Berry really say all of that? This isn't just you trying to run me off, is it?" he questioned. He wouldn't put it past Brittany.

Brittany shook her head, her face completely open. "I swear to God that I didn't make it up. After the nurse came to get the doctor and she realized that you were still waiting to hear, she told me what to say to you. She'd do it herself, but she can't leave the hospital room and she's afraid that it would cause even more stress when she's already had a problem with that tonight."

"Okay."

Brittany looked shocked. "Really?"

Puck nodded. "If she really thinks that's what's best for the baby, then I can walk away. No matter what you might think about me, I don't actually want to hurt the baby. And you're right, who wouldn't want a free pass out of an unplanned pregnancy?"

Brittany sighed. "Thank you for being understanding about this Puck." Then, she turned and headed back to Rachel's room.

Puck stood there for a moment, trying to absorb the sudden change in circumstances when he heard his mom's voice behind him. Turning, he saw that she was talking to the nurse at the station. When she turned around and spotted him, she hurried over and, holding him at arm's length, scanned him over anxiously.

"Are you alright Noah? Why are you at the emergency room? I thought you were going to a party at Mike's."

He nodded. "I was. One of the girls there was pregnant and I helped Britt bring her here when she started cramping."

His mother's expression was concerned. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, Brittany said that the doctor said that Berry and the baby are okay," he answered. Fuck, it was so weird talking about the baby like it was someone else's; like he was no more than someone who just happened to be nearby when it happened instead of the cause of the whole fucking thing.

"Berry? Do you mean Alan and Rick's daughter?" his mom asked curiously.

Puck nodded again. "Yeah, Rachel Berry."

"I hadn't heard that she was pregnant," she admitted before clapping her hands together. "Don't you worry Noah; I'll take extra special care of your friend."

And Puck knew that she would; Berry and his baby were both in good hands.

"Thanks Mom." He gave a wide fake yawn. "I'm tired so I think I'm going to head home and get some sleep now that I know Berry's okay. Can I take your car? I'll pick you up from work tomorrow if you can take me to get my truck from Mike's. We brought Brittany's car over here."

His mom handed him her keys before heading into the back to start her shift. Puck was headed toward the exit when he ran into Mike, Finn, Matt, Tina, Artie, and surprisingly Quinn on their way into the hospital.

"Where are you going?" Quinn asked sharply. From the way she was glaring at him, he knew that someone had filled her in on the fact that he was the baby's daddy.

"I'm going home. Berry feels that the baby will be healthier if I'm not around causing her extra stress." He gave them the short version of the free pass that she had given him on the pregnancy.

He could feel them staring at him as he left the hospital. He should be on top of the fucking world to have his life back.

So why did he feel so strangely empty?

ooooo

Rachel was laying in her hospital bed staring at the fetal heart monitor next to her once she was left alone. The monitor was hooked up to her abdomen, measuring the baby's heart rate to ensure that it was healthy. With every spike the monitor made, Rachel felt her fear fade just a little bit more.

She had been so terrified that she was going to lose her baby on the ride to the hospital. She had never been in such horrible pain before and she was sure that it was because her baby was dying. When the doctor had finally told her half an hour after she had gotten here that the baby was okay, she had never felt such relief. When they ran the ultrasound and she was able to see for herself that the baby was still moving; well, that was even better. She had sacrificed so much to keep her (and no, she still didn't know if the baby was a girl or a boy despite the ultrasound), so it would have been horrible if she had lost her now. She stroked her hand over her baby bump, avoiding the wires that were monitoring the baby's heart.

She got to keep her baby, and she was going to keep the deal that she had made with God on the ride over. She was going to start going to temple again. She had been a bad Jew simply because she was scared to see her dads. Not anymore though; she would attend temple services no matter how her dads behaved during them.

Brittany pushed the door open and entered her hospital room.

"How did he take it?" Rachel asked. She had sent Brittany to tell Puck that he didn't have to worry about them from now on.

"He took it pretty well. I actually don't think that he was very happy to get the free pass though, Rachel," Brittany admitted.

"Really?" Rachel had a hard time believing that he wouldn't be jumping for joy at the chance to get out of responsibility. "Did you tell him what I said about him not being like his father?" She had figured that was the only reason that he was trying to get involved.

Brittany nodded. "I told him, but I don't know. Maybe..." she hesitated, "maybe tonight's near miss affected him too."

Rachel considered that. "I guess, but I can't chance it. If I knew that he accepted the baby and wouldn't cause me stress over her, then I would reconsider. But I can't risk losing her, Brittany."

"I know Rachel," Brittany soothed her, taking a seat on the edge of Rachel's bed and brushing her hair back off her forehead. "I understand so don't worry about it; you'll just stress yourself out further."

Rachel nodded and leaned back against the pillow propping her up as the door opened. She could feel the stress pick up when she saw that the nurse entering was Noah's mom.

"Hello, Miss Berry. I'm Dani Puckerman, Noah's mom," she said chirpily. "How are you feeling right now?"

Rachel exchanged a look with Brittany. Maybe Noah hadn't told his mom that the baby was his in accordance with his free pass.

"I'm fine Ms. Puckerman," she answered.

"Oh, just call me Dani," the older woman responded with a bright smile as she checked the fetal heart monitor. "I heard that you had a bit of a scare with your baby earlier tonight, but everything looks fine right now. I told Noah that I'd take good care of you when I spoke with him before he went home."

"Thank you Dani." Rachel had never spoken to Puck's mom before despite the whole same temple thing, and she was kind of really liking the woman.

"Of course, Rachel. I can call you that right?" When Rachel nodded, Dani continued, "I have to confess that I was surprised to hear that you were the one that my Noah helped bring to the hospital. I hadn't heard that you were pregnant and I was sure that your fathers would have told the entire synagogue."

"We've had a bit of a falling out over it," Rachel admitted.

"That's too bad," Dani said, sadness in her voice before she perked up. "Well, you have some visitors and even though visiting hours have ended, I'm going to bend the rules since you were admitted earlier tonight."

She opened the door to the room back up and several of Rachel's friends filed past. "You've got fifteen minutes and then you'll have to leave," Dani reminded them before leaving the room.

"How are you doing?" Tina asked for the group.

Rachel smiled at them. "I'm okay. The baby is too."

They asked her what had happened and she explained what she could remember (_she had been in a blind, painful panic for most of it_). They made a very good audience, listening quietly and making appropriate noises in all the right spots. When she'd finished her explanation, they broke down into smaller conversations. Rachel was startled when Quinn came to stand on the opposite side of the bed from the one Brittany was sitting on, talking to Mike.

"Are you really okay?" Quinn asked, her eyes glued to Daffodil's heart rate.

"I am," Rachel confirmed. "I was a little shaken up earlier, but the ultrasound went a long way toward making me feel better."

Quinn met her eyes. "I can't imagine how scary that was. I was lucky; I never had any scares like that when I was pregnant."

"It was terrifying," Rachel admitted and then she remembered what she had wanted to tell Quinn before she had gone to the party. "I can't accept the tip that you left me at the diner earlier."

Quinn looked startled for a moment but she recovered quickly. "You're going to have to because I'm not taking it back."

"But it was way too much; your and Santana's meals together didn't cost that much," she protested.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "You're keeping the tip," she insisted, sounding every bit the bitch that she was all through high school.

"Yes, ma'am," Rachel stated, saluting her and startling a laugh out of Quinn.

When she stopped laughing, Quinn asked, "Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl yet?"

While Rachel shook her head, Brittany nodded. "She's having a girl."

Everyone else quieted down.

"Wait, Brittany, how do you know that she's having a girl when Rachel doesn't even know?" Finn asked, his trademark confused expression in place.

Brittany grinned. "I just do. She's having a girl and we're calling her Daffodil this week."

The guys burst into laughter at that name.

"I'll actually find out what I'm having a week from Tuesday hopefully," Rachel spoke over the laughter.

"You'll have to let us know when you find out," Mike said.

Rachel agreed as the door opened up again and Dani stuck her head inside. "Time to go guys."

While the others filed out, Brittany protested.

"I can't just leave you in the hospital alone Rachel."

"It's okay Brittany. I'm just going to sleep," Rachel reassured her.

They argued for another five minutes before Brittany finally let Dani escort her from the room, promising that she would be back as soon as visiting hours began again at nine. Dani turned the lights out and Rachel rolled over onto her side as best as she could with the wires attached to her stomach.

She let the sight of her baby's heartbeat lull her to sleep.

ooooo

Monday, November 19, 2012

"Are you the father of Rachel Berry's baby?"

Puck was not expecting that fucking question to come out of his mom's mouth when he picked her up from the hospital the next morning.

"What?" he asked in surprise.

His mother turned in the passenger seat of her car and stared at him. "Is Rachel Berry's baby yours? Dr. Felds said that you told him that you're the father and that you were very adamant about it. He was congratulating me on my new grandchild."

_Shit! _ Puck should have realized that the doctor would recognize him and talk (he even vaguely recalled him asking if Puck was Dani's son). He scrambled for a good explanation (he also wished his mother wasn't a fucking human lie detector).

"I had to say that. No one was giving me any information about Berry and since the real dad isn't in the baby's life, I figured I could get away with it. I should have warned you though," he explained. He thought he had done a fucking good job with his explanation too.

His mother continued to stare at him until he pulled up outside of Mike's house near his truck and put the car into park. When he went to open the door, his mother's words made him pause.

"I don't believe you, you know. I can always tell when you're lying to me and you're lying to me now. What I don't understand is why. Rachel is a nice, Jewish girl; you should step up and help her with the baby," she insisted.

He finally faced her and, from the look on her face, he knew that he had to be fucking honest with her because she wouldn't buy anything else that he told her.

"Fine. That baby is mine. And do you know what I did when she kept calling to tell me? I ignored her; I didn't return a single call because I thought that she had lost her fucking mind. So, she showed up at my dorm and I called security on her." He had to look away because his mom's expression was horrified. "You want to know why I was so late getting to your house yesterday? Because I stopped in at Barb's Diner for lunch and Berry was working there. So I teased her about dropping out of Juilliard because she found out that she wasn't the best and then I saw the bump. I knew that had to be my baby-Berry doesn't sleep around-but I still accused her of getting knocked up by a stranger and trying to pass the baby off as mine. Then I ran. I made it all the way back to campus. The only reason I even came back was because I will not be my father. I still didn't want anything to do with the baby though, not really. Hell, I couldn't even say the word baby until last night." He stopped so that he could take a deep breath.

"Noah, you handled it badly to start with, but if you've tried to help..." his mother started.

He cut her off, "I haven't handled it well at all. Last night, when she started having the pains, I was yelling at her. She had told me to stay away because she was afraid that I would hurt the baby since I couldn't even call it a baby and that pissed me off. So I started yelling at her. I'm the reason she nearly lost the baby; she told Brittany that it was partly because Santana told everyone at the party that I'm the dad, but I know better. It was me. I've caused her nothing but stress since I found out about the baby yesterday. Every time I've talked to her, she's gotten angry and stressed, so I should have known better than to yell at her. I should have known that it would endanger the baby if I did, but I didn't care. I was pissed off, so I yelled and she nearly lost the baby because of me. She was afraid seeing me would stress her out again, so she had Brittany talk to me last night. Brittany told me that Berry and the baby were both okay. Then she told me that Berry was giving me a free pass on the pregnancy. Berry told her to tell me that I'm not like my dad and that she felt it would be best if I stayed out of the baby's life for the baby's health. So I can go back to my life just as it was before I knocked her up. And that's what I'm going to do. How many guys ever get that chance?"

His mother was still staring at him. Finally, she broke the silence.

"I know you Noah, and you can tell yourself that you don't care, but you do. I can tell just by looking at you. You care that Rachel is carrying your baby now, even if you didn't before last night. You're not going to be able to walk away from them Noah, not anymore. So I don't know why you're even trying," she said softly.

Puck sighed. He suspected that his mother was right, mostly because that emptiness that he had felt when he left the hospital last night hadn't gone away yet. He was going to try though. Berry had given him what he wanted most, so he was going to take advantage. Puck shoved the door open.

"You're wrong. I'm going to head back to school on Sunday and everything will go back to normal, you'll see."

Ignoring his mother's pitying look as she climbed out of her side, he marched over to his truck. She'd see-he'd forget that he had a kid right here in Lima quickly.

He stubbornly ignored the internal voice that was calling him a liar.

ooooo

Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 22, 2012

Early in the morning on Thanksgiving, Rachel found herself standing with Brittany on the front porch of Brittany's parents' house, a pan of sweet potatoes tucked under one arm. They had told Brittany to invite her along for the holiday and Rachel was grateful for the invitation; she didn't have anywhere else to go. Rachel was kind of nervous though; she hadn't met Brittany's family yet even though they had been roommates for about a month now. She knew that Brittany had told them about the baby though, so at least they wouldn't be surprised by that.

The doctor had taken her off of work until next Monday, so she had been very bored all week. She'd visited with all of her friends, including a memorable conversation with Finn where he asked 'does Puck have to get all of my girlfriends pregnant?'. Rachel had laughed about that because honestly, not counting his current girlfriend and his short fling with Santana (he had eventually come clean about sleeping with her), Finn had only truly dated Quinn and Rachel. And both of them had gotten pregnant by Puck, although Rachel had at least waited until after she and Finn broke up. Rachel had assured Finn that it was all a coincidence. She had also advised him to keep his current girlfriend away from Puck, which had made her laugh and him panic. It had taken a while for him to figure out that she was just kidding.

The week had also been somewhat unsettling. She had given Puck a free pass on the pregnancy, but she had been surprised that he had accepted it as easily as he had. With the way that he had said that it wasn't over and that she couldn't ignore him, she had expected him to put up even more of a fight. But why would he when she had given him what he wanted? _And why did she care?_

Brittany elbowed her gently in the arm. "Don't worry, Rach, my family's going to love you."

When the door swung open and a tall blonde woman who looked remarkably like Brittany pulled her roommate into a tight hug, Rachel took a deep breath. _Please don't let these people judge me._

"You must be Rachel," the older woman said, holding out a hand to her.

Rachel shook her hand. "Yes, ma'am."

"And that's Daffodil," Brittany stated, pointing to her visible baby bump and giving her mom a look that Rachel recognized. That was the look that dared others to make mean comments aboutthe baby if they wanted to get their asses kicked.

Her mom's smile didn't falter. "Nice to meet both of you Rachel, Daffodil. And, please, call me Donna," she requested, stepping aside to let the two of them in.

After they removed their shoes near the front door, Brittany led Rachel into a bedroom where they left their coats. Rachel then followed Brittany into the kitchen. She handed over the sweet potatoes that she had prepared that morning.

"Thank you Rachel." Donna accepted the dish. "You didn't have to bring anything though."

Rachel smiled shyly back at her. "It was the least I could do since you're allowing me to intrude on your family for the holiday."

Donna waved a hand through the air dismissively. "You're Brittany's best friend and you seem like a perfectly nice young lady. After all of the bimbos my son has brought home over the years, it's nice to have a non-family guest who actually has some manners." She looked over at Brittany. "Kevin's not bringing anyone home this year though."

Rachel fought back amusement when Brittany sighed in relief. She had heard from Brittany all about the horror stories of her older brother's ex-girlfriends.

"So, you've let Brittany name the baby?" Donna asked, leaning over the open oven while she checked the turkey.

Rachel grinned. "I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. You knew that Brittany had picked Daffodil?"

Donna cast a fond glance at her daughter. "Brittany always loved happy names, especially flower ones. Her teddy bear growing up was named Buttercup after the Princess Bride."

Brittany blushed and whined, "Mom. Come on Rachel, I'll introduce you to everyone."

She led Rachel out of the kitchen and into the nearby living room. The Nolan house was much smaller than the one where Rachel had grown up, but she had a feeling that it was much warmer. She was still surprised when they entered the living room to find three adults and three kids though, all watching the parade on TV.

"Hey, Bri-Bri!" the blonde woman on the couch called out.

Brittany frowned. "Don't call me that! Guys, this is my roommate Rachel Berry. Rachel, my older sister Heather, her husband Caleb, their kids McKenzie, Liam, and Anna." She walked over to the cushy armchair where a middle-aged man was sitting and leaned over the back, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And this is my daddy Seth."

They all greeted Rachel, the kids and Caleb quickly turning back to the parade. Seth and Heather both surveyed Rachel though.

"You're pregnant," Heather stated.

Rachel nodded.

"How far along are you?" the other woman asked before shoving on her husband's arm. "Scoot down and let Rachel sit."

As soon as Caleb had made room on the couch, she patted the open spot and gestured Rachel over. Rachel sat down and Brittany took a seat on the floor with the kids to watch the parade.

Rachel spent the next hour answering Heather's and Donna's (she had joined them while dinner was under control) questions about the baby (with help from Brittany of course) and listening to their pregnancy stories. The doorbell rang again and Brittany popped up to answer it. She came back a few moments later.

"Hey Rachel."

Rachel looked up and saw that Brittany had a very handsome man with her. He had dark blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He was also at least as well built as Noah and very tan. He reminded Rachel of the stereotypical surfer and for the first time since that night with Noah, she felt the stirrings of attraction.

"This is my brother Kevin," Brittany said with a grin. "Kevin, my roommate Rachel."

Kevin approached Rachel on the couch, his eyes glued to her. When he reached her, he took the hand that she had extended and instead of shaking it, he kissed the back of it.

"Brittany never told me that her roommate was so gorgeous," he stated smoothly and Rachel tried not to blush.

"Yes I did," Brittany said, confusion on her face.

Everyone laughed at that. Leave it up to Brittany to totally negate Kevin's opening line.

The rest of the day was very good for Rachel. Kevin was very attentive to her every need; she knew that she would feel spoiled by the time she went home. She wondered if that was the difference between boys her age and men Kevin's age (he was 28). Either way, it was definitely something that she could get used to. She could also tell that it was something Brittany could get used to. Every time the blonde spotted Rachel interacting with Kevin, she had this wide grin on her face. Rachel could already tell that Brittany was planning their wedding and Kevin hadn't even asked her out. She was pretty sure that he wouldn't either because of the baby, but she was still enjoying his attention for the day.

Rachel was also falling slightly in love with Brittany's family. It turned out that Kevin and Heather and her family all lived right here in Lima although they didn't all get together too often. Brittany's family didn't treat Rachel oddly; they were very kind and included her in their conversations. They also told her a lot of their funny family stories. By the time she and Brittany decided to head home, Rachel had enough ammunition that she could bury Brittany if she ever wanted to.

The two of them were standing on the front porch, wrapped up in their warm coats, saying goodbye to Brittany's family.

"Now Rachel, feel free to stop by anytime, even if Brittany's not with you," Donna invited her, releasing her from a hug.

"And I'll be expecting a call on Tuesday about whether the baby is a boy or a girl. If it's a girl, I can lend you Anna's old baby clothing since she was born right around your due date," Heather reminded her.

Rachel was really hoping that she was having a girl; being able to borrow that clothing would really help her out financially. She smiled and waved at all of them and followed Brittany to her car on the curb. She was halfway across the yard when Kevin yelled her name. She stopped and waited for him to catch up to her.

"Hey Rachel, would you like to go out sometime?" he asked. "We could get dinner or catch a movie or something."

Rachel was surprised but also very pleased. "That would be fun."

He gave her that dazzling smile of his. "Excellent. I'll get your number from Britt."

He headed back up to the house and she climbed into Brittany's car. Brittany was looking at her with one eyebrow raised. "Well?"

Rachel grinned. "He asked me out."

"Yay!" Brittany yelled, reaching over to hug Rachel before starting up the car.

The whole way home Brittany kept chanting, 'You're gonna be my sister!'.

Rachel just couldn't stop smiling.

ooooo

Friday, November 23, 2012

When the rabbi finished the services, Puck was fucking glad. He hated attending temple because it was so damn boring, but it made his mom happy. And she was clearly disappointed in him right now, so anything he could do to keep her off his back was worth it. He stood up and stretched, looking around the room. It was so weird to see how much everyone had changed since the last time he came to temple during Hanukkah last year.

His attention was caught by familiar brown hair. Berry was standing at the end of one of the very last benches, talking to the older woman that he had seen her with at the diner on Sunday. She had clearly been sitting by herself though because the woman was standing in the aisle and Berry's dads had been in their usual spot in the first row on the opposite side from where Puck's family sat. His eyes automatically slid down Berry's body (she was in her uniform; he wondered if she had just gotten off work or if she just needed bigger clothes) and landed on the baby bump. He was happy to see it still there and maybe even slightly larger than the last time he had been near her. He hadn't seen Berry since he carried her into the hospital the night she nearly lost the baby so it was good to see the bump was still present for himself.

His week had been horrible. Most of the time, everything was normal. His mother never brought up the baby even though he could tell that she was thinking about it and his ten year old sister of course didn't know that anything was wrong. Usually, Puck was able to just go through a somewhat normal routine of hanging out with his friends (who very rarely mentioned Berry or the baby around him) and helping his mom out around the house. But then thoughts of the baby would fucking pop into his head. He'd hear his sister debating whether or not she should toss her barbies out because she thought she was too old for them and wonder if he should have her store them because his little girl might want them one day. Or he'd see Matt's little brother pestering their dad about how he wanted it to snow and for a moment, Puck would imagine taking his son out and teaching him how to peg someone with snowballs or helping his daughter make a snow angel with no footprints inside it. When he saw a woman feeding her infant while his family was out to dinner Wednesday night, he wondered if he'd be any good at holding his baby. He'd only gotten to hold his first daughter briefly before she was taken away and given to her adoptive parents. That thought just reminded him that Berry was keeping their baby and if he could convince her to give him the chance, he could be a real dad this time instead of just the birth father.

And in every one of these thoughts, Berry was there. He had finally accepted not only the baby's existence (nearly losing it had made the baby fucking real) but also that Berry was the mom (seeing the pain she was in that night and the way she cried drove that fact home). From what he knew about her, he figured that she would be an excellent mother too. He could picture her arguing with him over whether or not barbies give girls false body images or some other feminist crap only to give in anyway. He could see that she would be the target his son practiced his new snowball skills on (and she'd probably nail Puck with a few of her own in retaliation). He could imagine her making her own snow angel right next to their daughter's. Puck wasn't interested in her romantically, but he knew that if he was in their child's life then he and Berry would need to become friends at the very least because they would have to work together. And he thought that might not be completely fucking awful.

The thing was, he knew that if he listened to her and stayed away as he had over the last week, his baby would be healthy and happy. Between Berry and Brittany, nothing would ever happen to her (yes, he had noticed that they kept referring to the baby as a girl). Standing here now though (and watching Berry's dads walk past her without so much as glancing at her; _what in the hell had happened there?_), he wondered how he would ever handle coming to temple over the next few years and watching Berry with their kid but being unable to say or do anything about it. He didn't realize how long he had been staring at Berry and the baby until his mom interrupted him.

"You're staring Noah." He turned away from Berry to meet his mother's gaze. "You obviously can't give the baby up. Just go over there and tell her. Ask her to meet you somewhere and sit down and have a real talk. Don't lose your temper," she directed sternly, "and show her that you're serious about being there for her and the baby."

Puck wasn't sure if he should (Berry had been pretty fucking clear that she didn't want him around) and his uncertainty must have shown because his mom gave him another nudge. "I'd like the chance to know this grandchild Noah, preferably as something more than just a nice lady at temple."

It suddenly hit Puck that his mother had been hurt at having to give up her first grandchild and he didn't want to hurt her again. He took a deep breath and approached Berry (he was a fucking badass, surely he could face down one midget, pregnant and hormonal or not).

"Hey Berry," he interrupted her conversation with the woman from the diner.

Rachel looked over at him and he could see that he had startled her. "Noah?"

"Can we go somewhere and talk about the baby?" he asked then added, "I promise that I'll keep my temper."

The woman muttered that she'd see Berry later and walked away. Berry gazed up at him, her eyes wide. "You called my baby a baby."

He nodded. "That was your condition for talking to me, right?"

"Yes. But I don't understand. I gave you a free pass; I thought you'd be thrilled to take it," Rachel said, confusion shining in her big brown eyes. "So why are you here?"

He took a deep breath. "I don't want the free pass. So, can we talk about this?"

He fought not to shift uncomfortably under Berry's scrutiny (_he was a badass_, he reminded himself again); he didn't know what she was looking for, but whatever it was she apparently found it because she nodded.

"If you can be civil, then I'm willing to discuss the baby with you," she decided.

_It wasn't much, but at least it was a fucking start._

A/N 2: I promised a wake up call for Puck and that is why the baby had to be in danger; Puck was so deep in denial that I knew only a near catastrophe would pull him out of it and make him face the truth. To those of you who think that Rachel is going to easy on him in the final part; I guarantee that she hasn't forgiven him after all he's done. She's just soft-hearted enough to hear him out (because whether she likes it or not, the baby is his too). And, as has been previously stated, she wants him to man up. The Puck/Rachel interactions should be more frequent now too, hopefully.


	7. Chapter 6

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: So, this chapter is probably shorter than what everyone is used to, but I think that future chapters are going to be slightly shorter so that I can update more frequently. I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far. This is probably the story that I've been the most excited about and I just love reading what ya'll think. As always, please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Rachel wasn't sure why Puck had approached her tonight, but he had finally shown the sort of growth that she had been waiting for. He had called Daffodil a baby, so she thought that he might actually be ready to step up and be a part of their child's life. So that was why she was in her horrible, piece of junk car on her way to a nearby Starbucks to talk to him. She would know for sure whether or not she would give him a chance after this conversation. She hoped that it went well and that he was willing to put in the effort; despite his past behavior, Rachel really did want her baby to know her daddy.

She was glad that she had gone to temple tonight. It had been difficult to not join her fathers in their normal seat; she really missed them. She knew that she wouldn't be welcome with them though, so she had taken a seat by herself in the back of the room. She hadn't wanted to draw attention to herself, especially when she had recognized Noah sitting with his family. She had been really surprised when Estelle had found her immediately after services. Rachel had never realized that they attended the same temple and Estelle had never mentioned it either. The two of them had talked for a bit (Estelle, as surprised at Rachel's presence as Rachel was at hers, had offered to let Rachel sit with her from now on). Rachel had been stunned when Puck had interrupted them.

She pulled the car to stop in one of the angle spots in front of the coffee shop and got out, flinching when it backfired (_had she mentioned how much she hated her car?_). When she went inside, she saw that Puck wasn't there yet. She ordered herself a water (she probably could have had some caffeine if she had wanted but she had avoided it completely since she found out that she was pregnant despite her doctor's constant assurance that small amounts wouldn't harm the baby, especially now that she had moved into her second trimester) and took a seat at a table in near the front windows. She really hoped that the highly public setting would ensure that both she and Puck kept their tempers (she didn't necessarily trust his word that he would and she didn't trust herself to if he started behaving stupidly). Plus, if she was sitting in an easy to spot location, he'd be less likely to think that she had stood him up (_not that he wouldn't deserve it if she did_, she thought bitterly).

She had been sitting there for ten minutes when she saw Puck park in the spot next to hers. He cast a disgusted look at her dented and dinged car (she couldn't blame him; her car disgusted her too and it didn't matter how often she cleaned it, she still couldn't get rid of the cigarette smell inside) before entering the building. He scanned the room and found her pretty quickly. After he nodded to her, he ordered a drink and sat down across from her.

"So..." he started before quieting and looking at her.

Rachel hadn't expected this to be so awkward although she probably should have. It seemed like neither of them knew where to start. Rachel frowned to herself and tried to remember the last time they had a proper conversation. She couldn't. The night that they slept together, there wasn't much talking. And every time they had been together since he arrived back in town, she had been so angry that they had only argued. Now that they weren't fighting, it was like neither of them knew where to start, so Rachel decided to bypass the small talk and just jump right in.

"Noah, I know you said that you don't want the free pass, but I have to say that if you're only sticking around out of guilt, you should just leave right now. My baby and I deserve more than that," she started.

He frowned at her. "I'm not here because of guilt. That's why I was trying to talk to you earlier but this isn't that anymore. I tried to walk away, but I can't. When you nearly lost the baby, I realized that she's mine and she's going to be a real person."

Rachel studied him for a moment and she was shocked at the sincerity that she saw on his face. "Okay. I believe you."

He nodded and then added. "So you really are keeping the baby?"

"Yes. I plan to raise her," Rachel agreed.

After a moment, he asked, "Is the baby a girl? You and Brittany keep calling it one."

Rachel smiled at the thought of her best friend. "Brittany swears that she's a girl and has changed her name weekly since the day that I decided to keep her. Currently her name is Daffodil, but I won't actually find out what the baby is until Tuesday. I go in for an ultrasound and if the baby's positioned properly, Dr. Greenman thinks she'll be able to tell if it's a boy or a girl."

They were quiet for a moment while Puck absorbed that information and Rachel was surprised at how easily this conversation was going. She had expected everything to be difficult with him, but so far he was behaving and sticking only to the subject of the baby. As long as he didn't ask her anything about the period of time when she was trying to contact him (the period when her life was falling apart), she thought that they could get through this without her anger at him awakening.

Of course, then he had to go and ruin it.

"I went by your Dads' house and the big one said that you don't live there anymore. What happened there? Wouldn't the baby be best off if you had stayed at home?"

ooooo

Puck knew as soon as the words were out of his mouth that he shouldn't have fucking asked. Berry's face, which had been so open to him just like it always was before the baby, immediately shuttered.

"You haven't shown that you're worthy of the answers to those questions," she stated flatly. "We're here to talk about Daffodil and that's all."

He wondered if he could take the damn question back. Everything had been flowing smoothly, but now he had a feeling that they wouldn't get that back tonight. He hated that he would have to wait for the answers, but she would answer his fucking questions eventually. He searched for something else to ask, something about the baby.

"When's the baby due?"

He knew that he had picked a good question because her expression eased slightly. "May 11th is the date that Dr. Greenman gave me."

"Shit, I think spring finals are scheduled for that week." How was he supposed to be in two places at once?

Berry shook her head, a slight grin on her face. "Just because that's when the baby is due, it doesn't mean that she'll actually be born then. My birth mom had me two weeks early."

He frowned; Quinn had their baby one week early also. That would still fall during school though. "Can you hold the kid in until after finals? I don't want her to interfere with my classes."

Fury flashed across Berry's face and he knew that he had said the wrong fucking thing.

"At least you can worry about your classes and your finals. Do you know what I worry about?"

He shook his head. He didn't know, but he had a feeling that he was about to fucking find out.

She set her water bottle down hard on the table. "I worry about the fact that I have to wear my uniform to temple because I can't afford maternity clothes. I worry about how I'm going to afford a crib, bedding, diapers, and a million other things that babies have to have to survive. I worry that the hospital is going to take what little I own to cover the bills. I worry about tons of other things that I shouldn't have to worry about because I should be enjoying my pregnancy. I would give anything for my biggest worry to be whether or not I'll have to miss class to give birth."

Puck panicked when he saw the tears shining in Berry's eyes. _Fuck_. He was shit when it came to crying girls.

She wiped the tears violently away and glared at him. "So you'll have to excuse me if I find it difficult to dredge up concern. If you can't put our baby first, and you would rather miss her birth to attend class, then you obviously aren't going to be the kind of father that she needs."

Berry was up and walking out the door before it even hit him that she was going to leave. _Shit!_ He still didn't know how to contact her and if she got away now, he knew that he'd never get close to her or the baby again. He hopped up and ran as quickly as he could after her, ignoring the looks the other customers were casting him. He caught up to her on the sidewalk near his truck and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop even as her entire body stiffened.

"Wait Berry. I didn't fucking mean it like that. Of course the baby comes first; I won't miss her birth. I'll talk to my professors if I do have to miss class or my finals; there's bound to be some sort of policy for emergencies."

When she was really quiet and still not facing him, he willed her to turn around or say something. He needed to know that he hadn't just blown his last chance.

Finally, her spine softened, and she pulled her arm free and turned to look at him, a fierce expression on her face. "Okay, this is how this is going to work. If you want to be involved, then I'm leaving it up to you to check in with me about the baby. I've already put in my efforts to keep you informed and it was a waste of time."

He felt a pang of guilt at that. He couldn't imagine how panicked she had been (because he knew how fucking panicked he was when he found out), especially when he didn't call her back.

"If you truly want to help out and be a part of our baby's life, then you'll need to call me if you want updates or if you want to attend any of the doctor appointments. If you can't be at least somewhat consistent with checking in, then I'm going to assume that you're taking the free pass." She locked her eyes with his and very seriously said, "My baby deserves better than an unreliable, part time father."

He understood what she was doing; she was giving him the chance to prove himself. If she could count on him during the pregnancy, then she would know that she could count on him to help raise the baby too.

"Okay. I need your number though so I can check in when I'm at school since I head back on Sunday."

"Give me your phone."

He handed it over and watched as she entered her number into his address book. When she gave it back, he looked down and saw that it was entered as Rachel *. He grinned when he saw the star; at least the Berry he knew was still somewhere inside the bitter girl standing in front of him.

When she spun to walk away again, he stopped her. "Wait, Berry."

She turned back to him. "What?"

"The appointment on Tuesday; the one where you find out if the baby is a boy or a girl," he hesitated. "What time is that? Can I come to it?"

"It's at three. I'm sure that'll interfere with your classes, especially given the drive, but if you want to come I'll let you," she stated before adding, "And I'm not rescheduling it. Brittany's already found someone to cover for her at work so that she can come to the appointment and quite frankly, her needs come before yours. You can meet us at the health department shortly before three if you want to come."

"The health department?" He had thought that she went to some sort of private doctor's office.

"They have a sliding pay scale and that's about all that I can afford," she said stonily. "So I'll see you then if you decide to attend."

He watched her climb into the shitty little car next to his truck and again he wondered what had happened between her and her dads that she no longer had the Prius. When the car made a grinding noise on starting, he frowned. He watched her back out and then the car jerked as she started to move forward. He really hoped she would get home (wherever that was) safely. Making a quick decision, he hopped into his truck and followed her at a distance (he didn't think she'd be happy if she knew that he was following her). This was a good chance to see for himself that she was living somewhere safe and make sure that she got home all right. He didn't trust that car of hers; he had a feeling that it was on its last leg.

When she pulled into the parking lot of a red brick building just a few blocks from the diner, he was relieved. He guessed that she was able to walk to work since she lived so close. He hoped that Brittany would be around to drive her to work in bad weather. He didn't want to think about her walking in snow, ice, rain, and below freezing temperatures. That wouldn't be safe for either her or Daffodil and the bad weather should start soon.

Daffodil. He shook his head at the thought of the name. If the baby was a girl, he'd really have to talk to her about the names.

ooooo

"So you're actually letting him be involved?" Brittany asked several minutes later.

Rachel had gotten home and found that Brittany was already waiting for her. The blonde had wanted to know why she was so late and why she hadn't called to let her know that she was going to be late. So, after apologizing profusely for not calling (Brittany was scary protective of her), Rachel had explained her meeting with Puck.

Rachel nodded, crossing her legs under her on the couch. "I think I have to. Daffodil is his baby every bit as much as she's mine. And if he's able to get himself together and actually wants to be a part of the pregnancy and our daughter's life, then I can't deny that to him. I made it clear that it was his responsibility to ask what he needs to know though; I'm not going to bother with keeping him involved. I've already put out that effort and it wasn't worth it."

"You're making him prove himself," Brittany stated surely. "That makes sense. And if he's any kind of man, he'll do it."

"You need to be civil to him Brittany," Rachel warned her. "I know you don't like him, but he is Daffodil's dad, so you need to try and avoid antagonizing him."

Brittany rolled her eyes. "Fine. I wouldn't do that anyway because I don't want to stress you out and I know that probably would."

"Thank you."

Rachel's phone started to ring and she checked the display. It showed a number that she didn't recognize, but it was local, so she picked up.

"Hello?"

A male voice answered. "I'm looking for Rachel Berry."

Rachel's eyebrow rose. "This is she."

"Hi Rachel. It's Kevin," the voice on the other end responded.

She felt a smile break across her lips. "Hi Kevin. What can I do for you?"

Brittany clapped her hands together and hopped up from her spot at the other end of the couch. She motioned toward the hallway that housed their bedrooms and as she crossed past Rachel, she bent down near the phone and said 'Hi Kevin'. Then she disappeared down the hall.

A warm chuckle rumbled through the phone. "I take it Britt's home right now."

"Yeah. You actually only barely caught me at home," she admitted.

"Temple, right? Brittany mentioned that you're Jewish and that you planned to go tonight."

"I did go to temple. It was nice to get back to it." Rachel shifted uncomfortably-she didn't want to go into the whole Puck thing with him this early in their relationship(?).

"So what are you doing tomorrow night?" Kevin asked.

Rachel bit her lip to hold back her grin. "I don't have anything too special planned. Why?"

She thought that Kevin was probably calling to take her out like he had asked her yesterday, but she didn't want to seem too eager (even though she kind of was-how many other guys would ask her out when she was visibly pregnant after all?).

"Do you want to grab some dinner and maybe see a movie?" he questioned casually.

Rachel kept her calm and said, "That sounds fine. What time should I meet you?"

"Meet me? I thought that I could just pick you up." Kevin sounded confused.

"No, I would prefer to drive myself. After all, I know very little about you beyond the fact that you're Brittany's brother."

Rachel was worried that he'd change his mind at that but she wasn't willing to compromise on it. She had a rule that she never rode with someone that she didn't know. Common sense said that doing so was just begging to be hurt or raped (okay so maybe that was an exaggeration since this was Brittany's brother that she was talking about, but she wanted to keep that rule intact).

"I see your point," he finally answered.

Rachel sighed with relief.

"How about we meet at Buon Alimento at eight? Or is that too late for you? If it is, we can do it a different day."

Rachel frowned. If he intended for them to catch a movie too, she wasn't sure that she would be able to stay up that late. She still got more tired than previously, but if she went to bed early tonight, then maybe she'd be okay.

"That's fine. I'll see you then."

"Goodnight Rachel."

"Goodnight Kevin."

Rachel hung up her cell phone, unfolded her legs, and hopped up from the couch. She hurried down the hallway to Brittany's room and practically bounced through the open door.

"We're going out tomorrow night!" she exclaimed, causing Brittany to toss her I-Pod to one side and jump off the bed.

"Yay! I knew that was why he was calling! He called me for your number earlier today. Where are you going?" she asked excitedly.

"Buon Alimento." Rachel frowned as a slight panic hit her. "That's a really fancy restaurant. What am I going to wear? None of my really nice dresses fit and even the dress that I wore to the party is too tight across the baby bump now to be comfortable. I can't wear my uniform, but that's about all that I own that fits right now."

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out. We might just have to go shopping tomorrow morning before I go into work," Brittany soothed.

Rachel hadn't yet told Brittany that she didn't have the money for a maternity wardrobe; she didn't want to worry her. But if she didn't have the money for everyday clothing that fit, she certainly didn't have the money for a formal outfit for one dinner. She wondered if she could call Kevin back and change the location of their date.

She wouldn't though; she didn't want to be any trouble.

ooooo

"How did your talk with Rachel go? Is she going to let you be part of the baby's life?"

Puck pulled the leftover Chinese out of the fridge (_what? Dinner had been a full three fucking hours ago_) and shut the door as his mother entered the kitchen. He had known that she'd be waiting for him.

"Yeah, but she's making me do all the work. If I don't ask a question, then she's not going to just volunteer the information. I don't know how I'm going to do it. How in the hell do I know what to ask?" he answered, fishing a clean fork out of the dishwasher he had run that morning.

"Well, what do you know so far?" his mom asked, taking a seat at the table.

He sat down on the side adjacent to hers. "She told me the baby's due on May 11th and that she has an appointment to find out the sex on Tuesday, but that's about it."

While he ate, his mom asked, "Are you going to the appointment on Tuesday? You'll be back in school by then."

He nodded and swallowed. "I am. I'm going to meet her at the health department. I'll just have to miss my classes." He frowned. "Do you have any idea what happened between her and her dads? I asked, but it just made her mad. I know she's not living with them though and the dad I talked to on Saturday didn't know where she was living."

His mom shook her head. "No clue. I don't ever speak to the Berrys. I know that she was at Juilliard though because her dads announced that to the entire temple, so I can't imagine they were happy when they found out she was pregnant. Maybe they kicked her out. They may have even disowned her; I wouldn't be surprised because I noticed that they didn't talk to her at temple tonight."

_Shit_. He had wondered if they had kicked her out, but given the piece of shit that she was driving now instead of her Prius, he would bet that his mom was right. The sons of bitches had disowned her just because she was pregnant.

"What in the hell sort of parents are they? They disowned her just because she made a mistake that lots of other people have made? Shit. It's no surprise she got so pissed when I asked about them. How in the hell is she going to raise a baby without their support?" Puck just couldn't believe that Berry's dads would abandon her. "No wonder she's so worried about money."

His mom nodded, a sympathetic expression on her face. "Babies are very expensive and if her dads have disowned her then she's completely dependent on herself to take care of everything. You probably haven't even considered all of the expenses. Not only does she have to pay for doctor's fees, but also all of the supplies that the baby will need. Plus, I'm sure that she's already outgrown most of her clothing since she was so tiny to begin with, so she probably needs practically a whole new wardrobe. That's not even counting all of the emotional upheaval that she's going through, especially if her fathers did abandon her."

Puck could feel his head swimming. Berry had told him about the money stuff of course, but to hear it repeated by his mom, who had two kids, made it so much more serious. It was so much and Berry had no one to help her but Brittany. No wonder she had been so desperate to reach him. It made him wonder once again why she had decided to keep the baby. He was definitely glad that she had (even if it had taken him awhile to get there), but he knew that her life wouldn't have fallen apart like it apparently had if she had gotten rid of the baby. How was he supposed to not continue screwing up? He'd already nearly ruined everything repeatedly.

"What do I do?" He hated to sound so fucking weak, but he was lost. This whole situation was different from the one with Quinn. He hadn't messed up so fucking badly with her to begin with and she'd had more friends than just Brittany to fall back on.

His mom smiled softly at him. "You'll be there for her and I'll be there for both of you. You'll invite her over sometime soon so that I can get to know her better, perhaps after the appointment on Tuesday, and we'll help her with the baby as best as we can. Mostly though, you'll need to support her and the baby however you can because you're the father. It's wonderful that Brittany has been there for her, but she's been doing what you should have been doing all this time," she admonished him gently.

Puck knew that. He had a lot to thank Brittany for; he suspected that without Brittany's support, Berry probably would have panicked and gotten rid of the baby. He wouldn't have the chance to be a dad that he had now. He lived so far away though; how could he make sure that she and the baby were both safe and well taken care of when he was in Columbus all the time? If Berry had an emergency, he was two hours away. Sure, he'd be in town for nearly a month when classes ended for winter break on December 7th, but what would happen when spring semester began on January 7th? He'd never see Berry. He'd already missed so much of her pregnancy; he didn't want to miss anymore of it. He wanted her to know that he was taking everything seriously.

There were other concerns too. What happened if that car of hers broke down in the middle of a snowstorm or if she couldn't get a ride to work while it was icy and fell? He didn't want to think that she could lose the baby in a situation that wouldn't have happened if he had just been in town.

"You're right. When I go back to school, I'm going to talk to my counselor. I think I need to be here in town to take care of her and Daffodil. I should be able to transfer to the university extension here in town. Then, if Berry needs me for anything, I'll actually be able to help her."

His mom beamed at him, pride clear on her face. "That is an excellent idea. And it will really show her that you're serious about being there for her and a part of the baby's life."

They were silent for a moment and then his mom laughed.

"Daffodil?"

Puck grimaced. "She let Brittany name the baby. I'm definitely going to talk to her about that."

His mom got up from the table. "You know that you're welcome to move back in when you transfer." She dropped a kiss on top of his head. "I'm so proud of you for putting your child first."

After she left the room, Puck wondered how Berry would feel when he told her that he was moving back to town. He guessed that she wouldn't be happy because she was about to learn that he wasn't just going to attend doctor appointments but otherwise leave her alone. He was going to infiltrate nearly every part of her life because he was going to make damn sure that his baby and his baby mama were both taken care of.

He knew just where to start too.


	8. Chapter 7

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine. I also don't own any of the songs mentioned or used in this chapter.

A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far. I know the updates are less frequent now, so I'm thrilled to have so many of you still following the story and I hope you continue to read and review. I just love reviews; they're so addictive. As always, please let me know what you think! Thanks!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

"Get up, get up, get up!"

Rachel groaned and pulled her pillow out from under her head and over her ears. It was way too early for Brittany.

"No, you don't!" Brittany exclaimed before launching herself onto Rachel's bed. "Get up. We've got to go shopping."

Rachel's heart fell at the reminder of how she had nothing to wear for her date with Kevin and no money to buy anything new, so she held the pillow tighter over her head. Maybe Brittany would get the point and leave her alone so that she could continue sleeping.

"Rachel," Brittany whined, poking her in the side.

"Go 'way," Rachel commanded, her voice muffled by her pillow.

The bed jolted slightly again as Brittany bounced. "Come on Rachel."

Not removing the pillow, Rachel rolled onto her other side so that she was facing away from Brittany. Okay, so she was always a morning person before, but that had ended the instant Daffodil started sapping her energy. She'd had a horrible time waking up ever since she was at Juilliard before she even realized that she was pregnant. However, Brittany was exactly the sort of morning person that she was before the baby (and would hopefully be again once the baby was born, though she wasn't holding out much hope what with midnight feedings and all). Most days Brittany's energy was a blessing; she used it to cook homemade breakfasts so that all Rachel had to do was eat (and Brittany was an excellent cook once she got the whole recipe thing figured out). Other days, like today, Rachel cursed Brittany's excess morning perkiness because it led to Brittany bursting into her room and jumping on her bed, poking her, and generally being annoying. Every time that happened, they went through this exact same process (her shooing Brittany and Brittany not listening to her).

"I'm still sleeping. Go away Brittany."

"You are not 'cause you're talking," Brittany pointed out. "You know the quickest way to make me go away is to just get up already."

Rachel let out a frustrated sound and, pulling the pillow off her head, hit Brittany with it. Apparently, there was more force in her hit than she had meant for there to be because Brittany rolled backward off the bed and let out a sound of pain. Rachel sat straight up.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Brittany!"

She crawled down the bed and leaned over the edge to make sure that Brittany was okay. This turned out to be a huge mistake as the blonde launched herself off the floor and tackled Rachel back onto the bed, taking care to land to her side so as not to smoosh the baby. She dug her fingers into Rachel's sides, tickling her until she could hardly breathe.

"Stop! Stop! I need to pee!" Rachel yelled, gasping for air.

Brittany immediately pulled back and Rachel leaped off the bed and rushed to the bathroom.

"Get ready. We're going shopping because you need something pretty to wear for your date with my brother," came Brittany's voice from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Fine!" Rachel yelled back. "Now go away!"

As Brittany took off, Rachel could hear her singing about how they were going to be sisters.

An hour later, Rachel was refreshed but dressed in the same work uniform for the second day in a row (with only two uniforms to her name and those the only clothing that fit, they simply couldn't afford to do laundry often enough to clean the outfits every day); she was feeling less than wonderful because of the uniform. She and Brittany had eaten the yummy breakfast that Brittany had cooked while she was in the shower. Brittany had actually woken her up later than Rachel had expected; it had apparently been ten when the blonde had burst into her bedroom. So, they were leaving the apartment to go shopping shortly before lunch.

They had entered the parking lot on their way to Brittany's car when Rachel spotted someone under the raised hood of her car. She came to a stop and, reaching out, pulled Brittany to a halt too.

"Brittany, someone's messing with my engine," she whispered, not wanting to draw the attention of the person to her.

Brittany narrowed her eyes as she stared in the direction of Rachel's car. "That's not right." She pulled her arm out of Rachel's grip. "Stay here; I'm going to stop them."

While Brittany walked away, Rachel hissed at her to stop. _This was so dangerous; they didn't know anything about the person messing with her car._ Brittany ignored her and picked up speed, running and tackling the guy to the pavement.

"Brittany!" Rachel yelled, running forward, at the same time that a familiar male voice grunted out, "What the fuck?"

Rachel skidded to a halt next to her roommate and the man that she had tackled.

"Puck? What are you doing here?"

ooooo

When Puck had gone to bed the previous night, he had set his alarm for nine. He had known that he wanted to get up early to check out Berry's car. He also knew that he possessed the necessary skills to check out the car without having to let her know what he was doing. He figured she'd be at work and he'd know whether he could fix the car or if it was too far gone. Then he could start trying to bully her into letting him fix the situation (he knew that it'd be a fucking challenge given how she was last night). Hell, he was really hoping that he could just fix the car without her ever knowing and she'd just think it got better magically (she was smart but he didn't figure she was car smart).

He hadn't expected Brittany to tackle him right there in the parking lot. _What the fuck?_

Trying to shove Brittany off him, he looked past her at Berry. "I was trying to check out your car but now I'm trying to get your fucking guard dog off me." Brittany punched him in the ribs at those words. "Damnit Brittany! Get the hell off me!"

The blonde climbed off him, but she made sure to dig her knee into his stomach as she did so (he knew it was on purpose because her knee was nowhere near there before). Once she was standing again, she grinned triumphantly down at him. He got to his feet and scowled at her.

"What in the hell did you think you were doing? If I had been some freak you could have gotten seriously hurt." He turned his gaze on Berry. "And you. If you thought that I was a creep, you should have called the cops or run the other direction or something instead of running straight to me."

He was a little pissed off. They clearly hadn't known who he was and yet both of them had put themselves at risk by coming at him. What if he had been a fucking murderer or a rapist? Then Berry and Brittany could've been...and his baby...he didn't even want to think about it.

Brittany glared at him but Berry averted her gaze and muttered, "Nobody said you aren't a creep."

It wasn't exactly an agreement, but he'd take it because she clearly knew he was right. His victory was short lived though because Berry fisted her hands on her hips and gave him a hard stare.

"How did you find out where I live? And how did you get to my car's engine?"

And this was why he hoped he could do this without running into her.

"I followed you home last night," he admitted, moving back to the front of her car. He saw the expression on her face and quickly added, "And don't get all bitchy. Your car is a piece of shit so I had to follow and make sure that it didn't fucking break down."

She frowned. "How'd you get the hood popped? The car was locked so you couldn't get to the button."

He smirked at her. "Babe, please. I'm a badass. You think I don't know how to pick a lock? It's really easy for a stud like me, especially on an old model like this. Hell, if it was worth taking, someone probably would have grabbed it before now."

"Just because you can break into it doesn't give you the right to," Berry stated confidently.

He gave an annoyed grunt. "Look Berry, you clearly need someone to look at the car because there is obviously something wrong with it; don't even fucking deny it. It just happens that auto shop is the only class that I actually showed up for every day during school, so I can handle anything that's wrong with this piece of crap. I'm not gonna stand back and let my baby mama get stranded somewhere in the middle of winter. So just back off and let me do this for you."

Berry studied him for a moment before she nodded. "Fine."

She dug into her purse and threw a set of keys to him that he caught. He looked at her questioningly.

"If you decide to start the car, I'd rather you use my keys to do so instead of hotwiring it," she explained. "And if you need to use the bathroom, get something to drink, or, you know, warm up, we're in apartment 5C."

He was damn surprised that she would give him access to her apartment (even if her tone made it clear that she didn't really want to). Wait a minute...

"Are you and Brittany roommates?"

In a cold voice, Brittany said, "I told you that she was perfectly safe, didn't I?"

Given the expression on the blonde's face, Puck decided not to comment. He just nodded and turned back to Berry.

"Are you headed to work?"

"I don't see where my plans are any of your business," Berry stated decisively.

"I need to know where to drop your keys off if I get done before you get back."

She blushed sheepishly. "Oh, right." Her expression grew confident again. "We're actually going shopping, so we should be back in a couple of hours. It's up to you whether you wait here for us or come back later if you finish first."

Puck let his gaze drift down Berry's body and then back up again. Her coat was clinging tightly to her stomach and he recognized the black skirt peeking out from under it as her work skirt. This was proof that his mom was right that she didn't fit her clothing anymore.

"You're wearing your uniform again. Do you not own anything else that fits?" he asked curiously. He wanted to hear her say it before he offered the other help that he had brought.

Brittany broke into the conversation. "We're going shopping for an outfit that she can wear on her date tonight," she answered for Berry smugly.

He was shocked by the slight jealousy that streaked through him. He didn't like the thought that another man was going to be that close to his bump (yeah, he could say baby now, but he still kind of liked to think of the baby as a bump since the bump was visible proof that he was a stud-'cause anyone who was good enough to knock Rachel Berry up in one night _had_ to be a stud). So the thought of another guy touching the baby bump that he gave her didn't fucking set right with him (that was fucking logical right?).

"You're going out with some guy? Who is he?"

Puck didn't fucking like the way he sounded, but he needed to know. Anyone who dated Berry was practically dating his kid too since they came together.

Berry opened her mouth to respond, but Brittany cut her off. "She's dating my brother Kevin. He's a police officer here in town. He's also ten years older than us and way more mature than you. He'll do a better job taking care of the baby."

Puck glared at Brittany. He got that she was used to taking care of Berry but he was going to get fucking fed up with her acting territorial all the time. That was _his_ baby whether she liked it or not.

"I'm fucking trying here," he defended himself. He really was trying; he wouldn't have gotten up at nine in the fucking morning if he wasn't.

"Right now you are, but how long will it take for you to get bored?" the blonde shot back at him.

Puck's attention was drawn to Berry when she let out a small cry and leaned against the side of the car. Terrified that she was losing the baby again, he immediately forgot Brittany and rushed around the front of the car to her side. He gripped her shoulders to give her some support (and tried to ignore the heat that shot through him; _so not the right fucking time for that_).

"Berry, are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

She had her hand over her stomach, but she shook her head. "I think I'm okay. It was just a momentary pain." She met his eyes and he was once again reminded how big and brown hers were. "If you're going to be a part of this, you can't argue." She looked past him (at Brittany he guessed). "Neither of you. You need to try to get along. I can't take the stress and neither can Daffodil. I think she was just reminding us of that."

Puck nodded. He didn't want to risk his kid's health. "Sure. We'll work on it."

"Good." Berry shrugged his hands off her. "Come on Brittany, let's go."

As the two of them started walking away, Puck was shaken out of his stupor. "Wait Berry!" he called after them.

Berry stopped and turned back to him. "Yes?"

He held up a hand. "Just give me a second."

He hurried over to his truck that they had clearly missed when they entered the parking lot earlier and got the extra items that he had brought with him out of the passenger side. He jogged back across the lot to where Berry was waiting for him next to Brittany's car (which he hadn't noticed because he was so focused on Berry's).

"Here." He forced the three sweatshirts that he had brought with him into her hands. "They're mine. My mom said that you could probably use some bigger clothes and since I don't exactly own anything maternity, I thought these might work." He ran his hand nervously over the back of his head. "I know they're not pants, but at least it's something different than your uniform shirts all the time."

Berry was staring down at the sweatshirts silently and he was a little worried that he'd screwed up again. Maybe she didn't want to wear his shirts because they were his and he knew that she was still pissed at him. He didn't want to buy her maternity clothes without her choosing though because he didn't want to screw that up too. When he saw a tear slide down her cheek, he freaked out just a little (he was fucking awful with crying girls).

"Shit. If you don't want 'em, that's okay Berry. I'll take them back," he rushed out, reaching for the sweatshirts.

She pulled them out of his reach and up against her chest, looking up at him. "It's fine Puck; just the darn hormones. I've been like a leaky faucet since I got pregnant. Thank you. These will help a lot."

Berry climbed into Brittany's car, which was already running while the blonde waited impatiently for her. She offered him a small, uncertain smile as Brittany pulled away, her hands resting on his sweatshirts in her lap.

That smile made him feel like a fucking hero.

ooooo

"Ooh, you have to try this one on too," Brittany gushed, thrusting a navy blue dress into Rachel's arms with the other dresses that she had insisted that Rachel had to try.

Rachel felt completely overwhelmed. They were at Target, so it wasn't like the dresses were super expensive, but they still cost an extra $25-$50 that Rachel didn't have. _Too bad Puck couldn't have provided her with a dress for tonight_, she thought. But then again, if he had a dress she could fit she'd probably still be at Juilliard and wouldn't be in this mess. As Brittany piled yet another dress onto the stack, Rachel finally spoke up.

"Brittany, I don't think I can afford to buy any of these dresses. Maybe we should just give up and go home," she protested.

Brittany paused in her perusal of the racks and looked up. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that I'm buying the dress. It's one of your Hanukkah presents; I'm just giving it to you early. So you don't have to worry about the cost. I'm also getting you a pair of maternity jeans, though that's mostly because I'm tired of always seeing you in your uniform skirts. I was going to get you a new shirt, but since Puck brought you some of his, you don't need that anymore." Brittany tilted her head thoughtfully to one side. "I'm actually really surprised that he did that. It seems way too thoughtful for Puck."

Rachel silently agreed. She had been stunned when he'd handed her the shirts, but she was also kind of touched at the consideration that he had shown her in bringing them (_which had of course manifested in tears, darn it!_). She wanted to stay mad at him; it made things so much easier for her, but if he kept doing things like fixing her car and bringing her clothes that fit, she might not be able to hold onto her anger so easily. _And she really wanted to!  
_  
Rachel was broke out of her thoughts when her phone and Brittany's started to ring simultaneously. They both answered and separated a bit so that their conversations wouldn't overlap, Rachel setting her pile of clothing on a nearby shelf.

"Hello," Rachel answered.

"Hi Rachel." When Rachel heard Kevin's voice, she smiled. "So I have to cancel our date tonight. One of the other officers got taken to the hospital earlier today, so the station called me in to cover for him. Can we reschedule for tomorrow night instead?"

Rachel felt slightly disappointed but she understood that Kevin couldn't help it. "Sure. How is the other guy? Did something happen while he was on the job?" She didn't want to think about what Kevin could face as a police officer, especially not if things went well tomorrow night and they started dating regularly.

"No, nothing like that. He has appendicitis so he has to have surgery. Meet me at Buon Alimento at seven tomorrow night instead. I know that's earlier than we planned for tonight, but I thought you might have to work on Monday. Brittany mentioned that you were allowed to return then," he explained.

Rachel rolled her eyes and glanced over at Brittany, who was hanging up her phone. "I'll be there."

"Great!" Kevin answered enthusiastically. "Have a good night."

"You too. Be safe," she added.

"I will."

Rachel hung up her phone and headed over to Brittany. "How much have you told Kevin about my situation with Noah? He knew that I was off work."

Brittany, who had her mouth open to say something, closed it momentarily before answering, "I didn't tell him much about Puck; just that the baby's dad wasn't involved and had really hurt you with how he acted. I also told him about the scare with the baby because I didn't want him to stress you out. I actually told the whole family since you were coming over on Thanksgiving; they just didn't say anything because that wouldn't be polite. Are you mad at me?" Brittany asked sheepishly.

Rachel sighed. "No, I'm not mad. I just wish that you had asked me first before you told Kevin, especially anything about Noah."

"Okay, I'll do that in the future," Brittany agreed. Then she smiled. "So, that was Kevin? He must be excited about the date if he couldn't wait to call you."

"Actually, he had to cancel. One of the other guys on the force is in the hospital with appendicitis so Kevin has to go into work tonight to cover for him," Rachel admitted.

Brittany frowned. "Well that sucks." She brightened up. "But Quinn'll be happy. She's getting all the glee members together for karaoke at the bowling alley tonight since they all have to leave tomorrow. She told me to let you know since she doesn't have your number. I told her that you had a date-by the way, she'll probably ask you a bunch of questions because she was asking me lots of them-but now I can call her back and tell her that you're coming."

"I don't know Brittany. If I go, they'll all expect me to sing," Rachel hedged.

"You haven't sang since you found out you were pregnant Rachel. It's not like you; maybe it's time that you sing again," Brittany encouraged while Rachel picked the pile of dresses back up.

Rachel lowered her head to stare at the red material of the top dress. It was true that she hadn't sang even once since the day she took that home test with Bella's encouragement. She honestly hadn't felt like it; there simply wasn't anything to sing about. Between Puck's neglect and her fathers' betrayal, she had been fighting a depression; she could admit that. There had once been a time when she needed to have applause to live, but those days had long since disappeared. She wasn't that girl anymore; the last month and a half had seen to that. She missed singing, but she just couldn't seem to find the desire to put out the effort. She didn't know why; maybe it was just that singing would make everything feel normal when it wasn't. Or maybe it was that singing would remind her of what she had lost.

"Come on Rach," Britt wheedled. "Even if you don't sing, you have to at least come and hang out. It'll be much more fun than if you just sit around the apartment."

Rachel nodded. "Okay. I'll come, but I'm not promising to sing."

Brittany grinned brightly and opened her phone to call Quinn with the news.

ooooo

Puck frowned down at the book that he had picked up from the nearest parts store after the girls had left. Sure, he was good with cars, but he knew the book would help him out with the specifics to this model. So far, from what he'd been able to figure out, it was going to cost more to fix the car than it was even worth.

Shit.

He didn't know how he was going to head back to school and leave Berry here with a bum car. The damage to the engine was so extensive that he was surprised it even ran. Berry had been damn lucky that it hadn't broken down on her yet because it was just a matter of time before it did. And then her (and their baby) would be stranded in the cold. And he wouldn't be able to save them.

He couldn't fucking wait until he was settled back in Lima in a couple of weeks. Then he'd be able to keep an eye on Berry.

Giving up, he slammed the hood of the car (_if it could even be called that_) and headed into Berry's apartment to warm up and wait for them to get back. Once he had shut the door, he looked around the living room. The furniture was clearly second hand and mismatched. The apartment had a warmth to it that reminded him of his house though. There were pictures on the walls and shelves. He scanned the photos and saw that they were mostly of Brittany's family and friends. There weren't any photos of Berry's family and he knew that she hadn't had too many friends; in fact, all of her friends were in the glee club pictures that were up. He frowned when he spotted the last group picture of the original club that had been taken his junior year. He actually had a copy of that picture somewhere himself so he knew that he should have been standing at the right most edge next to Mike, but this copy had been folded back so that the picture ended with Mike and he wasn't visible. Given that the frame had sparkly gold stars around it, he knew that this picture was Berry's. He wondered when she had taken him out of it. _Probably around the same time that he had security haul her off campus_, he thought wryly.

Well, he'd work to get himself back in that picture. He wasn't going to mess up like that again.

The ringing of his phone interrupted his survey of Brittany's family photos. When he saw that it was Quinn, he answered.

"What is it Quinn?"

He could practically hear her sneer when she answered. "Hi to you too Puck. The old glee club is getting together for karaoke and I was calling to invite you but now I'm not so sure I want to."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Like I'd even want to go to karaoke."

"You should want to. Your baby mama is going to be there and if you had half a brain, you'd spend as much time around her as you can," she stated in an annoyingly superior voice. "But if you don't care about Rachel or your kid, then whatever-it's none of my business."

Puck scowled. If Berry was going to be there, he couldn't afford to miss it. Plus it'd be a good time to put the next step in his plan in action. "Fine. What time and where?"

After Quinn gave him the time and place, she hung up. Puck shoved his phone back into his pocket and wondered what had happened to Berry's date with Brittany's brother. As he glared at the photo of the blonde pretty boy standing with his arm around Brittany in a picture that was clearly taken over the summer, he was secretly happy that the date wasn't happening. He didn't want some other man around his baby.

That was all; it had nothing to do with the fact that Berry was the best sex he'd ever had.

ooooo

Rachel and Brittany walked into the bar and grill part of the bowling alley where the karaoke was being held. This part of the bowling alley's bar was open to all ages-there was a separate portion cordoned off for just over 21. The room was fairly crowded and it took them a bit of scanning to find their group. Eventually Brittany spotted them and dragged Rachel over to where they were sitting.

Brittany sat down across from Mike, and Rachel dropped down in the seat next to her. She was sitting next to Quinn and the other girl was quick to lean over and talk over the girl who was butchering 'My Heart Will Go On' (_poor Celine!_).

"You're dating Britt's brother? How and when did that start? What's he like? Are you wearing Puck's shirt?"

Quinn spit out the questions so quickly that Rachel could feel herself going cross-eyed.

"Umm, I'm not really dating Kevin yet. Tonight was supposed to be our first date, but he got called into work. I spent Thanksgiving with Brittany's family so that's when I met him; he also asked me out then." Rachel smiled brightly. "He was so attentive all day. He was just amazing; almost too good to be true. He's so mature and, well, I don't know too much about him yet but what I do know, I like. And, yes, I'm wearing one of Noah's shirts. He brought a couple over today because my own clothing doesn't fit anymore; well, except for my uniform and this pair of maternity jeans that Britt bought me today."

Quinn absorbed the information. "You know, I still have my maternity clothing stored away for the future. I know they're not really your style, but you could borrow them if you want."

Rachel blinked back sudden tears at the kindness. "Thank you. I would love to borrow them; you don't know how helpful that will be."

"Actually I do," Quinn admitted, meeting her eyes.

In that moment, Rachel and Quinn reached an understanding with each other. There were so many things about the two of them that were very different but Quinn's history with Puck gave her a unique compassion for what Rachel was going through. It was like the past didn't matter anymore and they had a chance to start fresh.

Apparently Quinn felt the strange vibe too because she shook her head slightly before smiling at Rachel. "So, what song are you going to sing tonight?"

Rachel frowned and looked past her. "I'm not singing actually. I haven't sang since...well, you know."

"I get it," Quinn said. "It can be difficult to want to sing, especially if your parents have abandoned you." When Rachel stared at her in disbelief, Quinn clarified. "I noticed that your dads weren't at the hospital when you had the scare with the baby and you're living with Brittany instead of at home. I visited you there on Wednesday, remember?"

Rachel sighed and nodded. "I guess you would understand the whole thing then. Funny how history repeats itself, isn't it?"

Quinn nodded and changed the subject. Pretty soon, they were gossiping about Brittany's brother and Quinn's social life back at school (she was attending the University of Cincinnati, so she was actually still nearby). When Brittany joined in, Rachel decided that this might be a great night, especially if Puck didn't show up (they hadn't exchanged more than two words when he gave her keys back because he seemed in a hurry; she still had no clue what he had found with her car).

Of course, when Puck took the empty chair across from her, she realized that she wasn't that lucky.

ooooo

Puck was staring at Berry; he was aware of it but he couldn't seem to stop. She was wearing his old McKinley High sweatshirt and it was having a weird effect on him. He knew that the sweatshirt was hiding his bump and the combination of the two made him feel strangely possessive of her. It was fucking disturbing because he didn't want to feel anything for her beyond the baby. He couldn't seem to shake it though. It didn't help that he was once again very aware of how hot she was (and his sweatshirt on her was even hotter). There was also a little voice that kept whispering that she was already pregnant so there was no risk if he had sex with her. It was annoying as fuck.

He knew there was no way that he'd get her into bed anytime soon, but he was still working to get her to forgive him. He thought he had figured out the perfect plan too.

"Take a picture; it'll last longer," Brittany said scornfully, causing him to finally pull his eyes from Berry.

"Clever Britt," he retorted. "How long did it take you to think of that?"

Brittany blushed in embarrassment and he felt a little bad for taking a shot at her intelligence. The way that Berry, Mike, Finn, and Quinn were all glaring at him didn't help his guilt.

He scowled at them. "Stop fucking looking at me like that. I didn't mean anything by it."

Quinn rolled her eyes and resumed her conversation with Brittany. Berry stared at him like he had disappointed her before she joined the other two girls.

"Smooth," Mike stated with a snort. "Attacking her best friend is definitely the best track to get on Rachel's good side."

Finn, who was sitting on Puck's other side, across from Quinn, shook his head. "You're such an idiot sometimes Puck."

Finn calling him an idiot? Now that was fucking rich.

"I've got a plan for winning over Berry. She'll forgive me tonight, just wait," he stated confidently.

Their group gradually grew over the night until every single one of the twelve original glee members were at the table. It was actually more fun than he expected, even with the way Santana and the gossip twins were watching him and Berry. Sure, Berry was ignoring him and Brittany and Quinn were following her lead, but the others were better. He was actually having a good time making fun of the horrible people who clearly thought they could sing.

"Next up, we've got Puck."

When Puck heard his name, he stood up and made his way to the microphone. He could feel Berry's eyes on him and when he turned around, he saw that she was staring at him. _Good_. She needed to. When the music started, he began to sing.

**Oh I had a lot to say, was thinking on my time away  
I missed you and things weren't the same  
'Cause everything inside it never comes out right  
And when I see you cry, it makes me want to die**

He met Berry's eyes and saw that they had gone wide in surprise and confusion.

**I'm sorry, I'm bad, I'm sorry, I'm blue  
I'm sorry about all the things I said to you  
And I know, I can't take it back  
I love how you kiss, I love all your sounds  
And baby, the way you make my world go round  
And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry**

When Berry got up and left the room, he dropped the mic even though the song wasn't done and followed her. _Shit, why was she running?_ He had thought that she would love that he was willing to sing a song to her. He caught her standing outside of the bowling alley, a stony expression on her face.

"I can't go home. Brittany's got the keys," she said blankly.

"Why did you run like that Berry?" he asked.

She turned to him and he hated the dead expression in her eyes. "I can't be bought with a song Noah. What you did...what I went through alone when you should have been there...there's no song you could sing that will ever make up for that."

"You had Brittany," he offered halfheartedly.

"Not the day that I went in for the abortion that my dads were forcing on me," she stated dully. "I was there in the clinic all by myself. I just wanted someone to support me; I needed you. I nearly went through with it too, but I just couldn't. And do you know one of the biggest reasons why?" She paused here and stared over at him. "I kept thinking about how you would feel if you ever found out that I had gotten rid of our baby before telling you about her."

He felt his heart tear at the thought of her choosing to get rid of the baby; sure, he hadn't wanted the baby, but now that he was used to the idea, he hated that she had almost gotten rid of her. Her expression was blank while she told him this, but he could hear the pain in her voice. He didn't have a fucking clue how hard things had been for her.

"The day that I showed up at your dorm was the same day that I nearly got the abortion. You were the first person I went to; I just wanted to tell you that you were going to be a dad and that I was keeping the baby," she explained and he winced at the memory of that night. "But you didn't want to hear it, so I went to Brittany. She took me in; she gave me the support that I needed from you. So, a song isn't going to win you forgiveness."

Puck stepped toward her and she held her ground, meeting his gaze unflinchingly.

"Look Berry, I know that I screwed up royally, but I really am trying to make it right. I wasn't there when you needed me before, but I'm not fucking going anywhere now. I'm a part of your life just as surely as our baby is, so you need to start at least trying to give me a chance," he pleaded with her (while still trying not to sound like a pussy).

She was silent for several moments and then she sighed. "I suppose you're right. We need to get along for our baby at the very least. No more songs though, okay?" She wasn't quite smiling when she said that, but there was more life in her face than there had been.

He nodded. "I'm cool with that. I hate singing in fucking public anyway."

As the two of them headed back into the building, Puck had realized two things. First off, he had a lot more to make up for than he had fucking realized (he was still trying to wrap his head around what she had told him about the almost abortion and he had a feeling it would take a while before he could).

Second, he missed her bright Berry smile more than he should (_and he shouldn't miss it at all_).

ooooo

When Rachel retook her spot between Brittany and Quinn, she shook off their questions about her well-being. She didn't know why she had run like she had; Puck singing to her was just too much. It was insulting that he had thought a song would earn him absolution. She would try to get along with him as she had said, but he was going to have to work a lot harder than that if he wanted her to forgive him.

"What are you singing for us tonight Rach?" Finn asked, that dopey smile of his aimed at her.

She gave him a small smile back. "I'm not actually."

Brittany frowned at her and then announced. "She's not sang in the whole time that she's lived with me."

"Really?" Mike seemed surprised by that. "I thought you loved to sing more than basically anything else."

"Yeah, didn't you tell me that you're like Tinkerbell and need applause to live?" Finn added.

Rachel blushed at the memory of those old words. "I may have said that."

Puck leaned back in his chair and gazed at her. "So what's the problem then? Unless you've lost your nerve."

She could feel her ire rising. _How dare he imply that she wasn't brave!_ It was partially his fault that she hadn't felt like singing.

"Of course I haven't lost my nerve. I just don't feel like singing right now," she said fiercely, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

He smirked lazily at her. "That's just what a coward would say."

She let out an irritated huff and hopped up. She stomped up to the sign-up sheet. _Oh, she'd show him. Call her a coward_. She signed her name, added her song choice (it just popped into her head and she had seen it in the book when Britt was looking through it earlier), and drew a star after her name. _She was Rachel Berry! Rachel Berry wasn't scared to sing!_

When she sat back down, Puck smirked at her. She shifted her gaze away from him. _Why did she have the feeling that she'd just been played?_

Fifteen minutes later, the emcee announced her name so she got up and took her spot at the microphone. She listened to the first chords of the song before she began to sing the lyrics that she knew by heart.

_She never slows down  
She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's all alone  
Feels like it's all coming down  
She won't turn around  
The shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear  
The tears will not stop raining down_

Rachel felt like she was putting her heart out there for everyone to see; the song was basically how she had felt ever since she found out she was pregnant and her life began to fall apart.

_So stand in the rain  
Stand your ground  
Stand up when it's all crashing down  
You stand through the pain  
You won't drown  
And one day, what's lost can be found  
You stand in the rain_

She won't make a sound  
Alone in this fight with herself and the fears whispering  
If she stands, she'll fall down  
She wants to be found  
The only way out is through everything she's running from  
Wants to give up and lie down.

There were times when Rachel wanted to give up because everything just seemed too hard and she felt alone, even with Brittany, but she never did.

_So stand in the rain  
Stand your ground  
Stand up when it's all crashing down  
You stand through the pain  
You won't drown  
And one day, what's lost can be found  
You stand in the rain_

As the instrumental interlude of the song began, Rachel let the music and the emotions that it stirred wash over her and blinked back tears. When she came in on the next verse, her voice stood out crystal clear and full of emotion against the scaled back music.

_So stand in the rain  
Stand your ground  
Stand up when it's all crashing down  
Stand through the pain  
You won't drown  
And one day, what's lost can be found  
_  
The music had picked back up and she finished out the song with her whole heart in the lyrics.

_So stand in the rain  
Stand your ground  
Stand up when it's all crashing down  
You stand through the pain  
You won't drown  
And one day, what's lost can be found  
You stand in the rain_

Once the song was finished, Rachel placed the mic back on its stand and headed back to her table. She wiped the tears off her cheeks as applause broke out around her. When she sat down, the others smiled and complimented her on her performance (well, except for Santana and Kurt who were both glaring at her; Mercedes praised her though). When Quinn and Brittany got up to do a duet of Kelly Clarkson's 'You Thought Wrong', Puck leaned forward.

"Feel better?"

She considered that question. She actually did feel a little better. She had forgotten how much she loved to sing until she was actually up there doing so. And the song she had chosen had been therapeutic.

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I do."

He grinned back at her. "Great babe. You should never stop singing again."

Rachel was shocked. That was actually a really sweet thing for him to say. So of course he had to go and ruin it.

"Plus, it's fucking awesome to know that all I have to do is call you a coward and you'll do what I want Tinkerbell," he added with a cocky smirk.

As Rachel resisted the urge to smack that smirk off his face (she didn't know what was worse the manipulation or the nickname), she realized that she felt more like herself than she had in a long time.

There was just something so _normal_ about wanting to hit Puck.

A/N 2: Puck's aborted song was Buckcherry's 'Sorry'. If you don't know the song, I suggest looking up the lyrics. There is a good reason why I chose that one for him, mainly the line 'It's never too late to make it right.' Their relationship doesn't exactly match up with the song lyrics, but there aren't exactly any songs for when you get someone pregnant and then ignore them :) Rachel sang 'Stand in the Rain' by Superchic[k], a personal favorite of mine when I'm going through a hard time.


	9. Chapter 8

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine. I also don't own any of the songs mentioned or used in this chapter.

A/N: I know I've been away for a really long time, but I got burnt out after so much writing in such a short time. However, I'm back and excited to start writing again. I did get my outline for my original novel done while I was gone though. I would like to give a shout out to my own personal Brittany, my sister in all but blood, Hotaru06. I don't think you'll ever know how much your encouragement and support helps me in following my writing dreams. I'm glad you're my sis-in-law! Also, Hockeyhunni26, I have heard your requests for an update, so I hope this lives up to what you've been waiting for. Anyway, sorry this update took so long but I hope you all enjoy it. Please let me know what you think! I do so love reviews!

Sunday, November 25, 2012  
_  
I'm in the business of misery  
Let's take it from the top_

Rachel gave a little squeal as her I-Pod, set on shuffle, hit one of her favorite Paramore songs. She was standing in the kitchen the following morning, wrist deep in bubbles, as she washed her and Brittany's breakfast dishes. The other girl had already headed into work, but Rachel was still off because of her baby scare the previous weekend. Since Brittany always cooked breakfast, Rachel figured that the least she could do was clean up. Of course, Brittany disagreed and would probably yell at Rachel when she got home that night since she expressly forbid her to work, but the brunette didn't care. She felt perfectly fine and she was heading back to work tomorrow anyway. Singing along to the song, Rachel fell into the soothing pattern of scrubbing and then rinsing before placing the dishes in the drainer. Rachel loved this song and was suddenly very glad that Noah had manipulated her into singing last night, giving music back to her.

_Second chances, they don't ever matter  
People never change  
Once a whore you're nothing more  
I'm sorry that'll never change_

Rachel let out a small giggle just as she always did when she sang those lines. There was just something so bad about calling someone a whore, even if it was some non-existent entity. It was part of the reason that she loved the song. Dishes finished, Rachel took the soapy rag to the tiny kitchen table; Brittany had splattered strawberry preserves on it that morning. Scrubbing at the sticky mess, Rachel continued to sing the very angry second verse and the chorus, dancing as she did so.

_I watched his wildest dreams come true  
Not one of them involving you  
Just watch my wildest dreams come true  
Not one of them involving_

Belting out those lines, some of her favorites in the song, she nearly missed the knocking at the apartment door. Dropping the wet rag back into the dishwater, she dried her hands off and turned down the music. With her luck, that would be one of the neighbors complaining about the noise. Brushing aside the hair that had fallen into her face from her ponytail, she crossed the living room to the door.

"Hold on!" she yelled out. The knocking was incessant and really annoying.

Peeking through the peephole, she let out an annoyed huff and pulled the door open.

"What do you want now?" she asked the cause of all of her frustration lately.

Puck leaned insolently on the doorframe and smirked at her. "Nice look Berry."

Frowning, Rachel gazed down at herself and realized just how horrible she looked at the moment. She hadn't been expecting company-just a day of chores around the house-so she hadn't bothered to change out of her pajamas. Unfortunately, as with most of her clothing, they didn't fit. The waistband of the yellow and white cotton pants was pushed down below her stomach and the matching yellow shirt was riding up, baring her baby bump to Puck. She was so used to her ill-fitting pajamas that it didn't even occur to her how odd she probably looked. Add to that the fact that she had on no makeup and her hair in a messy ponytail on top of her head and she knew that she was a sight.

"It's not like I invited you over," she pointed out. "Well, are you going to come in or do you plan on helping with the gas bill since you've apparently decided to heat the hallway?"

Looking thoroughly amused, Puck brushed past her into the apartment, allowing her to shut the door. While she still had her back to him, Rachel attempted to yank her shirt down over her stomach. She held back an angry shriek when the shirt just immediately rose back up. She so couldn't deal with him while she was in this less than dignified state. Heck, she could barely deal with him even when she was at her best. So she wasn't surprised at her snappish behavior when she turned to him.

"Why are you here? I thought you were going back to school today. I was _so_ looking forward to it," she stated, crossing her arms over her chest. When she noticed that his gaze was focused considerably lower than her face, she snapped. "My eyes are up here Noah."

With what seemed like great effort, Noah dragged his eyes from her boobs and hazily met her gaze. "Uh, yeah." He shook his head slightly and seemed to compose himself. "I made an appointment with Burt Hummel. He agreed to take a look at your car. I want to see if he backs what I found yesterday."

Rachel felt a flash of panic. She didn't have the money for a mechanic; that's why she hadn't scheduled an appointment yet despite the fact that she knew she needed to. Her mind automatically began scanning through her bills to figure out what she could put off to afford the visit. Something of her growingdread must have shown on her face, because Puck continued on before she could respond.

"Stop worrying. I'm paying for the appointment. It shouldn't take too long; he's really good at what he does," Noah reassured her. "So go get dressed Berry."

Annoyed as she was at Noah's intrusion on her peaceful day, Rachel was also slightly happy that he really did seem to be proving that he was there for her and the baby. If he was always this supportive, maybe she could handle the time that she had to spend with him. Maybe they could even get along like they had discussed last night. Of course, in true Puck fashion, he had to ruin the moment.

As she passed him on her way to her bedroom, he smacked her on the butt. She sent her best death glare over her shoulder at him, but unfortunately, he didn't burst into flames.

_Darn._

ooooo

"You were right Puck," Burt Hummel announced, pulling his upper body from under the hood of Berry's car and slamming it shut.

_Fuck_. Puck had known that Burt would agree with him, but he had really hoped that he was wrong (as he often did in regards to Berry). Berry's car was essentially a junk car, worth more as the individual working parts than it was as a whole. Now he'd have to figure out how to forbid Berry from driving it without her killing him in retaliation. Even when they were at their best during his senior year, she never listened to him; he was sure it would be even worse now. If only he didn't have to go back to school for the next two weeks; he'd just drive her when she needed to go somewhere until they could find a new car for her. Then he wouldn't have to worry like he knew he would until he came back to town to stay.

Puck sighed. That morning had been an eye-opening experience for him. He had shown up simply expecting to bring her car in and thinking that if he was lucky she'd agree to go with him so they could spend a little more time together working on this whole 'getting along' thing. Instead, he'd gotten an eyeful of her baby bump in all its naked glory. It was bad enough when the bump was covered because he found himself constantly sneaking peeks at it. Seeing it without any covering was a very different and much more powerful experience. When she'd let him into the apartment, he just couldn't stop looking at it. He knew that she thought he was staring at her tits (and they were _fucking awesome_; he thought maybe they were bigger than they had been, not that they hadn't always been fucking awesome anyway), but he was actually looking at her stomach. He knew that his baby was in there and it had been all he could do not to reach out and stroke the soft skin of the bump. He wondered if she could feel the baby moving yet, but he thought Quinn had been farther along before that had happened when she was pregnant. Still, he'd spent the past couple of hours keeping his hands busy or fisted at his sides to keep from reaching out for her.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Berry had looked fucking adorable this morning (_he felt like a pussy using that word but it was really the only word he could use_). He was used to seeing Berry looking completely perfect and together. Actually, aside from their one night together, he had never seen her look anything but perfect, even when she was in pain the night she wound up in the hospital (and she always did wear slushie well). So catching her in pajamas that didn't fit with no makeup and her hair all messy had been a first. It was also kind of refreshing; for the first time, she had seemed really fucking human. Even if no woman should look that good without any effort. Even now, when her ponytail was neat and she wore a little bit of makeup, she was still prettier than most girls looked all dressed up. Of course, part of the appeal was that, as revealed when she took off her coat while they waited, she was dressed in another of his baggy sweatshirts over her maternity jeans. She just looked fucking _right _in his clothes (although, to his surprise, he kind of missed seeing the baby bump).

"I'm sorry, but I seem to be missing something," Berry broke into his thoughts. "What exactly was Noah right about?"

Burt wiped his greasy hands on one of the shop rags sitting on top of his toolbox as he answered.

"There are a lot of very serious problems with your car and it would cost more to fix than it's even worth."

From the look of confusion on Berry's face, Puck knew he had been right that cars weren't her thing.

"Your car's worthless Berry," Puck stated bluntly. "You might as well scrap the piece of shit and be done with it."

He watched Berry's eyes widen in shock followed closely by that horror that was becoming so familiar to him. For a moment, he felt a surprisingly strong surge of anger at her dads for putting her in this position. He may have been a bastard to her, but he knew that her dads would have disowned her even if he had been there for her from the start. He was realistic enough to realize that their actions had everything to do with the baby and nothing to do with him, even if he didn't know the whole story (he was basing this on what Berry had said last night about the abortion they had tried to force on her). If they were worth anything, they would have stuck by her and she'd still have her nice, reliable Prius. He wouldn't have to worry about something happening to her while he was too far away to help. (He conveniently ignored the niggling voice that reminded him that he had almost been as worthless as a parent as they were-that voice sounded suspiciously like Brittany).

"Thanks for the help Burt, especially since it's Sunday and all," Puck stated, pressing a hand to Berry's lower back to push her toward the passenger side door of the car. "What do I owe you?"

Burt shook his head. "It's on me."

Berry came to a sudden halt, her spine stiff under his hand, so Puck spoke up before she could. "We can't do that. Really, what do we owe you?"

"Nothing. It's not like I really did anything you hadn't already done," Burt insisted. "Consider it an early baby present. Congratulations, by the way. Kurt told me that you two are having a kid."

Berry responded instantly, pulling away from him, turning around, and smiling blindingly at Burt. "Thank you so much, for both the help and the congratulations."

Puck took a bit longer to respond. This was the very first time someone had congratulated him on the baby. Everyone else had been so focused on the fact that he had knocked up Berry or the fact that he was being an ass about it that no one had been happy for him yet, aside from his mom. And even she hadn't congratulated him though she had said she was proud of him when he finally manned up. He hadn't expected it to be so fucking nice to have someone congratulate him on the baby like it was a happy thing (and it kind of was now that he was used to it).

"Thank you," he said, his voice a bit gruffer than usual.

He must have had something in his throat because he wasn't 'touched' like a fucking pussy.

ooooo

Rachel poked at her unappealing fries. They were all soggy and soft and highly disappointing. Holding one upright, she watched as it limply drooped sideways under the weight of gravity. Scowling in disgust, Rachel dropped the fry back onto her tray and poked it again as if it had personally offended her.

"What the hell are you doing Berry?" Noah asked in disbelief.

Prodding the fry again, she whined, "This isn't a fry; I don't even think it's real potato."

Still frowning, Rachel unfolded her yellow paper napkin and draped it over the so-called fries like a funeral shroud. Maybe without the revolting sight she could concentrate happily on her grilled chicken sandwich.

"You're fucking crazy, you know that Berry?" Noah mused, the amusement in his tone undermining his harsh words.

Tearing into her sandwich with relish, Rachel looked up at his smirking face.

"So I'm crazy. What's your point?" she questioned after she swallowed.

A burst of laughter escaped Noah as she took another bite. It had been four hours since breakfast and she was absolutely famished. After they left Burt's garage, Puck had brought her to Wendy's for lunch. She really would have preferred McDonald's-she was kind of craving the fries again and she had told him so-but she knew that Noah was trying to avoid Brittany. Since they were actually getting along for once, she wanted to maintain the peace for as long as possible. Even if it meant mushy fries (though she was silently wondering if she could talk him into going through McDonald's drive-thru on the way back to her apartment).

Still shaking his head over her words, Puck took a drink of his soda (Rachel eyed the coke enviously; she had ordered water because she wanted to have a soda tonight at dinner), before he spoke.

"So, what are you going to do about your car?"

She frowned; she was really hoping to avoid that question for a while (forever actually). She didn't know what to do about her car. She had to have some way to get herself from point A to point B, especially tonight. She just knew that Noah wasn't going to let this go though; he'd been too focused on it the last couple of days.

"What can I do? I have to have a car; Brittany can't drive me everywhere you know."

It was Puck's turn to scowl, although it was aimed at her and not the "fries".

"You can't drive that car; it's not safe. What happens if you break down somewhere?"

She swallowed again and looked over his shoulder at the banner running across the bottom of the C-SPAN show on the restaurant's TV.

"Huh, did you know that the president was visiting Japan?" she asked curiously. "Why do you think he's there?"

"How the fuck should I know?" he responded in an annoyed tone. "Don't avoid the question."

Sighing, Rachel sat her sandwich down, careful not to touch the mushy "potato" and contaminate it.

"I have a cell phone. I'll just call Brittany."

"Brittany doesn't know shit about cars," Puck pointed out. "So, how the hell do you expect her to help?"

"She'll give me a ride home; I'll have to call a tow truck for my car," she explained patiently. It seemed rather obvious to her.

"And what will you do if she's at work and can't pick you up?" he asked intently. "It's already after Thanksgiving Berry. It's going to get colder soon and what if no one can get to you quickly and you end up freezing to death?"

She considered that. Rachel could admit it was a valid concern. It didn't take her long to figure out an answer though.

"I'll make sure to pack a blanket in the car to help keep me warm. Plus, if I can't get a hold of Brittany, I could probably call Henry or Brent from work. I'm sure they'd pick me up. And, provided tonight goes well, I'm sure Kevin would be willing to help me out."

At the mention of her date, Noah grimaced. He muttered something under his breath, but she didn't hear what it was, before his volume hit a level where she could understand him.

"I still don't like the idea. You need to just park the car Berry and avoid the danger. I want you to promise that you won't drive the car until I can find a salvage yard to buy it for the parts. I'll help you pick out a new car over winter break."

Having polished off her sandwich, Rachel glared at him silently.

"Berry, don't be fucking stubborn. Promise that you'll park the car."

Rachel considered that phrasing; she could just smell the loophole. She didn't want to make it too easy on him though, so she stayed silent for several more moments.

"Berry..." Puck's tone was threatening.

She huffed. "Fine. I promise I'll park the car."

"Good." Looking considerably happier, Noah finished off his burger. "Come on Berry, let's get going. I still have to make the drive back to school and get ready for class tomorrow."

Rachel got up and moved ahead of him, her mind already on her date tonight and the preparation she needed to do for it. A group of teenagers came through the door and Rachel stopped to let them pass. When Noah placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her through the door afterward, she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice. A blast of cold air startled her out of her musing and she spun around to face Noah.

"I forgot my coat at the table!" she exclaimed.

When he didn't move, she looked up at him curiously. He had the oddest expression on his face. She made to move away and go around him, but his voice stopped her.

"No, don't move. Just...stay for a minute."

The softly pleading tone of his voice surprised her and then she felt his hand shift ever so slightly on her stomach. She realized that when she had turned around, she hadn't moved back as she had at Burt's so Noah's hand had wound up resting vertically on her baby bump when she spun to face him. She was shocked to see how much this apparently meant to him, so she decided to help him.

"You can't feel it properly like that," Rachel explained. She took his hand and turned it so that it rested sideways across the bump.

"It's harder than I thought," he said quietly, almost reverently, his hazel eyes wide. A myriad of emotions shone in them.

Rachel giggled. "That's because it's mostly baby. I wasn't exactly carrying any extra weight when I got pregnant."

"I know, but still..." he trailed off, rubbing his hand lightly over the bump.

The way that Noah was looking at her and caressing her stomach as if it was the most precious thing in the world was so counter to everything she had ever experienced with him that she started to feel slightly uncomfortable. She could feel herself softening toward him, but she didn't want that. She wanted to get along with him on a superficial level, but it had suddenly hit her that he was the father of her baby. She had known that mentally of course, but this surreal experience had just driven the fact home for her. Now, he finally felt like the father of her baby in her heart. And that terrified her because she still hadn't forgiven him for everything and she wasn't ready to yet; she still didn't trust him.

"We need to go Noah. You have to get back to school and I have a date to get ready for," she reminded him.

He pulled his hand back and she moved past him to get her coat.

And just like that the moment was broken.

ooooo

As Puck made the trip from his truck back to his dorm room later that evening, he felt very different than he ever had before while taking this same walk. For the first time, he wasn't exactly happy to be back. He had never cared for the academic side of college, although he was actually doing better than he ever had in high school, but the thoughts of all the girls just waiting to sleep with him had always made him ready to get back to campus. This time though, he really just wanted to be back in Lima. He was worried that Berry would do something stupid because she had given in way too easily on the car issue.

He felt a smile slide over his lips as he thought about that afternoon. They hadn't really fought (another first) and he had finally gotten to feel the baby. Granted, it wasn't moving yet, at least not that he could feel, but it had still surprised him. Because of how large her stomach was already, he hadn't expected the bump to be so hard. Quinn had never been big on letting him feel the baby when she was pregnant, even when they were dating and she was living in his house, so he rarely got to experience that the first time around. The fact that Berry let him, for however short, was just amazing to him, especially with their history.

He sure as hell never would have thought he'd return to school about to be a dad. And he never would have fucking believed that he'd actually be happy about it.

Shoving the door to his room open, he walked over to drop his suitcase on his bed so that he could unpack. He had only just unzipped it when his roommate entered.

"Callie's a fucking bitch," Aiden announced, dropping onto his bed and turning on the TV.

Remembering their conversation as he had packed, Puck asked, "So, she didn't let you fuck her?"

"No, but that's not why she's a bitch," Aiden stated, muting the TV but continuing to flip through the channels. "Turns out she never liked me; she just liked that I did things and bought stuff for her. Called me her trained monkey."

Puck shuddered. He was suddenly very glad that Berry was his baby mama. He could have gotten stuck with someone like Callie instead. Pulling out the unopened box of condoms that was buried at the bottom of his suitcase, he smirked. His life was very different now. When he had packed to leave, he had been sure that Berry was some insane stalker. Now she was his baby mama (he ruthlessly shut down the voice that reminded him that she was his baby mama then and that he had just been an asshole who ignored her).

"Dude, you're creeping me out. What's with you?" Aiden asked, taking a break from his channel surfing. "Did you hook up with someone good while you were gone?"

"I actually didn't hook up with anyone this week," Puck admitted.

Aiden considered that. "Oh. So, did you see crazy girl while you were home then?"

Puck's smirk widened to a grin. That was still a very good description of her, not that she cared since she'd admitted it herself today. "Yeah, I did."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Then why in the hell are you so damn happy? I thought you didn't want anything to do with her."

"I found out why she was acting so crazy and why she came down here that night," Puck confessed. "She had a really fucking good reason."

"But you didn't sleep with her?" Aiden asked, interested by the change in his friend.

"Nope. She wouldn't even talk to me until Friday and I think she's still pretty pissed at me," Puck stated, frowning slightly when he pulled out his Ohio State sweatshirt. Maybe he should give that to Berry when he went to the ultrasound Tuesday; he rarely ever wore it and he bet that it would be really loose on her. She could probably wear it until her seventh or eighth month.

"So, you're happy she's pissed at you? That's really fucking messed up, Puck," his roommate declared, breaking through Puck's concentration.

Deciding to wash the sweatshirt before he gave it to her since it had been buried in his suitcase with all of his dirty clothes, Puck tossed it onto the laundry pile while answering Aiden, "Of course I'm not happy she's pissed at me."

"Then why the fuck are you acting so weird?"

Puck turned to his roommate and dropped the bomb.

"Berry's pregnant."

Aiden was quiet for a moment, his mouth hanging open in shock, before he broke the silence. "The crazy stalker's pregnant and _you're happy?_"

Puck frowned at him. "She wasn't so much a crazy stalker as a girl trying to tell me that she was pregnant. Still crazy though," he added. "And I definitely wasn't happy at first. I've gotten used to the idea over the last week."

"So she's keeping it?"

"Yes, she's keeping it. She wants to raise the baby, so no adoption even," Puck sighed as he got to the portion of the conversation that affected Aiden. "I'm moving back to Lima when this semester ends. I'm going to take classes at the Lima extension instead. Things are rough for Berry-she had to drop out of Juilliard because of the baby-so I need to be nearby."

After this announcement, Puck waited for Aiden to get pissed at being left without a roommate or tell him that he was insane to leave the easy pleasures of the campus chicks behind for his baby and her mom.

"That's the right thing to do dude," Aiden surprised him by saying. "It's what I'd do in your place."

"Really?" Puck was amazed by the support. He had thought for sure that Aiden would think he was crazy.

"Yeah. And it's not like it can't work to your advantage. You said that she was awesome in bed and now you don't have to worry about her getting pregnant," he pointed out.

Puck smirked. He had thought the exact same thing just last night at karaoke. That was why Aiden was his best friend instead of just his roommate. Then his smirk died.

"I can't. She's dating some douche. Their first date's tonight actually, and Berry isn't the sort of girl who cheats."

"Tough luck dude." Aiden glanced over with a grin. "So, she got any hot friends that I could meet when I visit? Preferably not pregnant though I can deal with a little harmless crazy, not Callie crazy though."

Puck rolled his eyes at his roommate, but inside he was glad. Maybe he'd keep his best friend despite the distance between Lima and Columbus.

ooooo

_Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true  
Deep down inside we want to believe they still do  
In our secretest heart, it's our favourite part of the story  
Let's just admit we all want to make it too_

Ever ever after  
If we just don't get it our own way  
Ever ever after  
It may only be a wish away

Rachel was in high spirits as she drove home from her date that night (yes, she had promised to park the car, but she didn't say when) and sang along with her plugged in I-Pod. It had been a wonderful night; the best she had had in a very long time. For the first time since she found out that she was pregnant, she truly felt hopeful for her future.

_Start a new fashion, wear your heart on your sleeve  
Sometimes you reach what's real just by making believe  
Unafraid, unashamed  
There is joy to be claimed in this world  
You even might wind up being glad to be you_

Ever ever after  
Though the world will tell you it's not smart

Ever ever after  
The world can be yours if you let your heart  
Believe in ever after

The date had been perfect, down to the last detail. It had started when she met Kevin at the restaurant and he gave her a dozen roses. They were currently sitting in the seat next to her. He didn't know her favorite flower, but it was definitely the thought that counted. She was quite sure that if he knew that she liked tiger lilies best, he would have brought a dozen of those for her instead.

_No wonder your heart feels it's flying  
Your head feels it's spinning  
Each happy ending's a brand new beginning  
Let yourself be enchanted, you just might break through_

To ever ever after  
Forever could even start today  
Ever ever after  
Maybe it's just one wish away  
Your ever ever after

Once they were seated at a private table for two, he had asked what she wanted and then ordered for both of them. He had focused the conversation on her, asking plenty of questions about the baby. They had also talked about his family some, which had brought up her fathers. He had seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say; apparently Brittany had mentioned that they weren't getting along at the moment. It had been nice to talk to someone who was somewhat objective about the situation. She tried to change the subject quickly though-she didn't want to dwell on unpleasant thoughts, especially not on a first date.

_(I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss)_

Oh, for ever ever after

After dinner, they had gone to the movies and he had agreed to a romantic comedy, surprising her. She was quite sure that Puck would never have agreed to something like that (_wait, what did he have to do with this?_). After the movie, which he had paid for along with dinner and concessions, Kevin had walked her to her car. He hadn't kissed her, but he had requested a hug. When she agreed, he had held her so tightly that she thought he might never let her go. It was really nice to feel so wanted again.

Rachel was so lost in her world that she didn't even notice the way her car was slowing down or that there was smoke seeping out from under the hood until it came to an abrupt stop. Frowning, she checked the gauges on the dashboard. She wasn't out of gas, so why had the car stopped? And should that one gauge be in the red? It was starting to feel awfully warm inside the car.

Pulling the neck of her blue dress out to fan herself, she finally noticed that copious amounts of smoke were pouring out from under the hood of the car. As she stared in disbelief (and shock), she spotted what looked like spots of flame dancing among the smoke. Frightened into action, Rachel grabbed her I-Pod and purse and climbed out of the car. Once out, she moved a fair distance from it just to be safe.

Rachel pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911 to get the fire department to her. Then she dialed Brittany.

"Hi, Rach! How was your date? You don't have to call if you're not coming home tonight you know," she answered perkily.

Blushing slightly at that suggestion (and feeling a bit of remorse for the roses going up in flames as the fire moved to the front seats), Rachel was quick to correct her. "No, I was actually on my way home when my engine caught on fire. Do you think you can come pick me up?"

Brittany gasped. "Did you call the fire department?"

"Of course. I called them right before I called you."

"Where are you?"

Rachel heard their apartment door slam over the phone and knew Brittany was hurrying.

"I'm right in front of WalMart."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Brittany said before disconnecting.

Rachel wrapped her arms around herself. She was freezing, and she had taken her coat off in the car before leaving the theater because she had been warm. Now she really wished she hadn't.

When the fire department pulled up to put out what was now a decent sized blaze in the engine and seating areas of her car, Rachel didn't really feel anything. She was just very apathetic to the whole thing. It wasn't like she liked her car; she couldn't say she was even very surprised now that the initial shock had worn off. After all, Burt and Puck had both warned her that the car was a piece of crap that was going to break down on her. She somehow thought this wasn't quite what they had in mind though.

A police cruiser had also shown up with the fire truck. She spoke with the officer, but there wasn't much for them to do because she hadn't broken the law and there was no damage to anything but her own car. The officer did call a tow truck for her to haul the car back to her building's parking lot, so that was helpful at least. It was also nice when the tow company said that she didn't have to wait for them to arrive due to the tow needed for the condition of her car.

An ambulance had also come, but they did a quick once over of her and declared that she was healthy because she was obviously undamaged and wasn't even coughing from smoke inhalation. The police officer and ambulance were just pulling away when Brittany pulled to a stop near her (the fire was nearly out by this point).

"Oh my gosh Rachel! Are you okay?" Brittany asked in a panicked voice, rushing to her.

When the blonde reached her, she immediately pulled Rachel into a hug. "You aren't hurt are you?" She then let go of Rachel and shrugged out of her coat, handing it to her. Rachel immediately and very gratefully pulled it on-she was freezing.

Starting to warm up again even though she couldn't zip it up, Rachel shook her head. "I'm fine. I got out of the car before the fire started in earnest. The paramedics already looked me over and said that I'm okay," she added when she saw the lingering concern on her roommate's face.

Before Brittany could say anything further, one of the firefighters came over and spoke briefly with Rachel about the incident. When they started to load into their truck, Rachel turned back to Brittany.

"We can go now. The tow company the police called said that I don't have to wait for them."

When Brittany and Rachel were in Brittany's car and on their way back to their apartment, the blonde sighed.

"I guess Puck was right about your car needing looked at."

Rachel blushed in shame. "Yeah, about that. I kind of promised him that I would park it, so can we not tell him about this?"

Brittany cast a surprised glance at her before turning back to the road. "You broke a promise?"

"Well, technically, I didn't. I said that I'd park it but I never said when and he didn't actually specify that it had to be today. He just kind of implied and assumed that I wouldn't drive it again once he dropped me off at home this afternoon," she admitted sheepishly. "So, can we please not tell him?"

Brittany sighed. "I won't say anything, but when he sees the car, he'll figure it out."

Rachel frowned. She knew that Brittany was right of course. She'd need to figure out how to get rid of the evidence.

Maybe Burt knew a salvage yard that would take what was left of the car off her hands.

It was a good thing that Rachel wasn't superstitious or she might think it was a bad omen that her car caught on fire the same night as her first date with Kevin.

A/N 2: The song that was included in part at the start was 'Misery Business' by Paramore, one of my favorite songs by them. The last song was 'Ever Ever After' by Carrie Underwood. It seemed appropriate for what Rachel feels was the perfect date/perfect guy.


	10. Chapter 9

Spoilers: Up to 'Power of Madonna' though other back 9 stuff may appear if I think it's applicable.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: To those who reviewed my last chapter, thank you for the warm welcome back. I didn't get as many reviews on the last chapter as I usually do, so I just wanted to make sure that you all know how very much your words of encouragement mean to me. Please let me know what you think about this chapter! I love to hear what you think!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

"Baby day, Baby day!"

Rachel groaned and automatically pulled her pillow over her head as Brittany's voice assaulted her ears. It was way too early for this, as it often was when Brittany decided to invade her room. She wasn't surprised when there was a tug on her pillow. Rachel struggled to keep a hold of it, but Brittany had the advantage of leverage and yanked it away from her. Suddenly blinded by the sun pouring through the window, Rachel blinked several times before completely opening her eyes and staring up at Brittany's grinning face hovering above her.

"Was this really necessary?" Rachel asked, slightly peeved at the rude awakening.

Brittany nodded enthusiastically. "It really was. It's nine. You have to be at work in an hour."

Panicking, Rachel threw the covers back and climbed out of bed. Ignoring the slight chill of the apartment, she rushed into the bathroom. A record short shower later, she was entering the kitchen to the smell of pancakes.

"Pancakes, Brittany?" she questioned, already feeling the nausea building up. Her morning sickness may be gone, but she still hadn't gotten over her aversion to syrup.

"Yeah, you can have peanut butter on yours and I'll wait until you leave to get the syrup out for mine," Brittany reassured her, gesturing to the table where the jar of peanut butter was already sitting with no syrup in sight.

Slightly happier at that, Rachel poured a glass of milk and took the plate of pancakes that Brittany held out to her. While she spread peanut butter on them, she listened to Brittany chatter.

"It's so exciting. You get your ultrasound today! You'll finally know that I'm right and the baby really is a Tiger Lily," she announced a short time later.

Rachel nearly choked on her bite of pancake. Struggling, she finally swallowed.

"Tiger Lily?"

Brittany grinned at her. "It's your favorite flower and I think it would be really cute for a baby name. Plus, it's got a built in boy name-we can just drop the Lily part if it's a boy." She paused. "Not that it will be of course," she finished conversationally.

One side of Rachel's mouth quirked up. "Tiger? I'm sure Noah would just love that."

Brittany's face scrunched up at the mention of Noah. "Is he still coming today?"

Rachel nodded. "As far as I know. He's not told me any differently."

Brittany groaned loudly and plopped down into her seat. She immediately popped back up and rushed over to the counter. When she sat back down it was to hold Rachel's vitamin out to her.

After downing the vitamin, Rachel finished her breakfast while Brittany sulked. Rachel knew that she would have to talk to Brittany about her attitude towards Puck eventually, but now wasn't the best time for it. She needed to get to work and she knew the conversation about Noah was probably going to take longer than she could spare at the moment. Plus, she really dreaded having to tell Brittany that she needed to start being nicer to Noah.

Several minutes later, Brittany got up so that she could take a shower. They had both pulled midday shifts that would be split up by the doctor appointment. Rachel noticed that she needed to leave, so she called her goodbye back to Brittany. Brittany either didn't hear her or was ignoring her, which wouldn't surprise Rachel given her unhappiness over the Noah situation.

As Rachel pulled the door shut, she sighed. _How could she expect Britt to be friends with Noah when she wasn't completely sure she wanted to be friends with him herself?_

ooooo

"Hey, do you want to work on our soc project tonight? It's due on Friday you know and we haven't even started it yet."

Puck glanced up at the sound of Aiden's voice. While Aiden was getting ready to head to his first class of the day, Puck had gotten up early to finish the homework that he had left over the break. He actually had meant to finish it all, but he'd gotten a little distracted by more important things. Plus, he really fucking hated algebra.

Scowling down at the system of equations he was trying to solve (_damn substitution_), he responded, "Can't. I'm heading to Lima this afternoon."

"You just got back two days ago. If you're so worried about...Rachel, right?" Aiden asked, verifying her name. When Puck nodded, he continued, "If you're so worried about her, why don't you just call her again?"

"I'm going to her doctor appointment," Puck explained, erasing his work when the equations didn't check yet again. "Damn it," he muttered before his voice went back to normal, "Today's her sonogram. We're going to find out if the baby's a boy or a girl."

"I can see why you'd want to go then," Aiden agreed, stuffing his calculus book into his bag. "So, do you want a girl or a boy?"

Puck hesitated for a moment and considered the question. He hadn't really given it any thought. He'd been so busy getting used to the idea of the baby and figuring out how to earn Berry's trust that he hadn't thought about simple questions like that one. Did he want a boy? Or a girl? He knew that he'd be happy with either as long as the baby was healthy but if he could be completely honest...

"A boy," Puck stated decisively. "If it's a girl, I'll go crazy trying to protect her from boys like us."

Aiden snickered. "I could see that. Well, for the baby's sake I hope it's a boy." With that, Aiden left the room.

Puck turned back to his fucking math (shit, how much longer would he have to work on this?), and silently acknowledged that he had another reason for wanting a boy over a girl. Rachel had filled him on the names that Brittany had chosen for the baby in the past over the phone last night, and if the baby was a boy, there would be no more of that.

At least he really hoped that Brittany wouldn't name his son Daffodil.

ooooo

"I don't like it."

Rachel rolled her eyes; Noah was behaving like a child. From the moment that they had stepped into the health department's waiting room, he had been complaining. Rachel didn't know how much more she could take of his immaturity. On top of that, Brittany was clearly fed up with him and obviously restraining herself from picking a fight. So far it was working, but Rachel feared that Britt's self-control would reach its limits quite soon and then her and Puck would start arguing and that always stressed Rachel out and she was already stressed enough just anticipating the moment when the tentative peace between them would snap and the fighting would begin.

_See, she was so stressed that she was thinking in run-on sentences!_

"There's no choice, Noah. This is the only place in town that I can afford. What would you expect me to do? I can't exactly just not come to my prenatal appointments," she explained as patiently as she could.

He frowned at her. "I still don't like it. If you were at a private office, there probably wouldn't be sick people there." A sneeze sounded from one of the other patients. "See!" Noah exclaimed. "Sick people! What happens if they give you something?"

Brittany, who had been ignoring Noah since they arrived (minus the dirty looks she kept throwing his way), whipped her head around to look at Rachel. The expression on her face showed that as much as it disturbed her to agree with him, she clearly thought that Noah had a valid point.

Rachel made a face at both of them. "Then I suppose I'll be miserable for awhile; it can't be helped."

They sat there quietly for a few moments, the silence only broken by Puck's grumbling under his breath, until the woman sitting across from Rachel went into a rather mucusy (_that was a word, right?_) sounding coughing fit. Noah popped up out of his seat as if he had been scalded and grabbed Rachel's wrist, dragging her from her seat. He pulled her down the row and pushed her into one of the seats farthest from the coughing woman. Brittany trailed along behind them.

Letting out an annoyed huff, Rachel glared at Noah as he took the chair to one side of her. "This is useless, you know that right? Most germs that lead to common colds and flu are airborne. Moving across the room won't keep me from getting sick."

"At least this way the germs will take longer to get to you," he claimed.

Brittany let out an incredulous snort but otherwise stayed silent. Luckily Noah chose to ignore that.

A tense silence fell between them again. The quiet made Rachel's skin feel itchy. This was perhaps the most awkward situation that she had ever been in. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to behave when she was at a prenatal appointment with her baby's daddy and her current suitor's sister who was angry at the daddy because of his behavior when Rachel first found out that she was pregnant. Rachel was finally coming to terms with Noah's behavior, especially since he had called yesterday to check on her and the baby despite having just seen them the day before. So she couldn't understand why Brittany couldn't start to put it behind her too.

Puck let out a disgruntled noise. "This is so fucking stupid."

"What are you complaining about now?" Brittany asked, glaring at him.

"This." He gestured at the three of them. "We used to be friends; why in the hell are things so weird now?"

As Rachel watched Brittany's face contort with anger, she cowered back into her seat. It looked like the blonde's patience had finally broken. She actually felt bad for Noah in that moment since he would be on the receiving end of her temper, which could be quite impressive when pressed enough (not that that ever really happened).

"You knocked up my best friend and then ditched her," Brittany hissed at him, mindful of the fact that they were in public. "You have no right to just come waltzing back into our lives and expect everything to just go back to normal."

Puck frowned at her. "I don't expect that. I know I screwed up but I'm trying, so you should give me a little credit."

Rachel was somewhat surprised that Noah, who was known for his temper, was keeping his cool while the normally unflappable, cheerful blonde lost it. Her ears had turned red and her fists were clenched as she spoke through gritted teeth.

"We'd all be better off if you just went back to Columbus and stayed there."

Puck's mouth dropped open and Rachel felt shock race through her system. Quickly standing up, Rachel repeated Puck's earlier actions and grabbed Brittany's wrist.

"We'll be right back!" she called over her shoulder to Noah as she hauled the blonde outside.

Once they stepped out into the cool air, Rachel moved them away from the doors and crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to stay warm. She turned to face her friend. She dreaded what she had to say.

"Britt, I appreciate your protectiveness and everything you've done, but this can't keep happening," she started. "Puck is the baby's dad and he really has been trying, even I can see that. You need to try to get along with him for both my sake and, more importantly, for Tiger Lily's."

Brittany scowled at her, crossing her own arms, though more in an act of defiance than one of warmth.

"He's an ass. He completely ignored you when you needed him most and now he just gets to waltz in without any work and be a major part of Tiger Lily's life? It's not fair. Why does he get everything?" she questioned petulantly.

Blinding realization struck Rachel like a baseball bat to the back of the head. _Why hadn't she seen the problem before?_

"Brittany," she began cautiously, "you do realize that no matter what happens you'll always be the baby's aunt, right? No one will ever replace you in our lives."

These words cut through Brittany's anger as her eyes filled with tears.

"But since Puck's the dad and he's actually here doing what he's supposed to, what do you need me for?" she asked quietly.

Her heart aching at the insecurity that her best friend had obviously been feeling since Rachel had agreed to let Noah be a part of the baby's life, Rachel felt like a horrible friend. How had she missed the signs of the true reason behind Brittany's animosity toward Noah? Sure, part of it was probably his past mistakes, but now it seemed like it was mostly Brittany feeling unneeded and unwanted that caused her anger. Rachel acted instinctively and pulled the taller blonde into a tight hug, stroking her hair despite the height difference.

"I need you to be my best friend," she murmured soothingly as Brittany bent down and cried into her shoulder. "If I don't have you, who'll make sure that I eat right? How will I remember to take my vitamin every morning? Who will help Tiger Lily name her stuffed animals when she's older? Or babysit her when I feel like I'm going to lose my mind because she won't stop crying? Who will come up with crazy names for her? She'll need her aunt. And I need you too."

Brittany's breath hitched as she clung to Rachel for several more moments. Once her crying had slowed, Rachel tried to inject some humor into the situation.

"Besides, who else am I going to complain to when Noah annoys the crap out of me? Because you know that's gonna happen more often than not," she added.

Brittany let out a surprised chuckle and pulled away from Rachel, wiping her eyes.

"You're right. Even when he's being a decent guy he's still an ass," she agreed, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry I've made everything so hard on you."

"No, Britt, I'm sorry that I didn't notice what you were going through earlier." Rachel rubbed her arms vigorously through her sweatshirt for warmth. "Can we go in now? It's freezing out here."

Nodding, Brittany slipped her arm through Rachel's and they reentered the warm building. Once inside, they made their way back over to where Puck was sitting, half-turned in his seat with his eyes glued to the doors. When the girls retook their seats to one side of him, he glanced over curiously.

"Better now?"

Rachel and Brittany both nodded.

"I'm sorry about what I said. I'm still not really happy that you're here," Brittany admitted honestly, "but I'm sure I'll come around with some time. Until then, I'll try to be nice."

Puck leaned around Rachel to look at Brittany. "I made some mistakes, but I'm trying to be better. I promise that I won't purposely hurt the baby. Or Berry," he added, almost like an afterthought making Rachel glare indignantly at him. "Speaking of which, where's your coat Berry?"

She blushed. They still hadn't told him about the car fire; in fact, Rachel was hoping that she could get rid of the car before he ever found out about it. She hadn't replaced her coat either since it burnt up; she couldn't really afford to. That's why she had put off buying a properly fitting coat to begin with.

"I left it at the diner since I only expected to run between the car and the buildings," she stated (lied).

"Brilliant Berry. You drag us to this germ pit," he said this with a frown in the direction of a nearby child wiping his runny nose on his sleeve, "and you forget your coat. Are you _trying_ to get sick?"

"Of course, Noah. Don't you know that I want to get sick when I can only take a very limited selection of medicine? Doesn't that just sound wonderful?" she inquired sarcastically while Brittany snickered.

He held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "Geez, sorry Berry. I was just wondering."

"Yeah, well wonder a little quieter next time," she muttered under her breath making Brittany laugh harder.

"What?" Noah asked, eyes narrowed.

Rachel smiled sweetly at him. "Nothing."

"Rachel Berry," a nurse called out from the nearby hallway.

All three of them stood up, Noah still watching her suspiciously, and followed the nurse to one of the exam rooms. After the nurse had taken care of the preliminaries of the appointment (weight, blood pressure, etc.) and collected a urine sample (Rachel of course headed to the restroom for that part), she left the three of them alone to wait for Dr. Greenman.

While Rachel had settled herself on the exam table, extremely thrilled to not have to wear a gown since this would be a simple appointment, and Brittany had dropped into one of the chairs, Noah wandered around the room. Rachel watched, fascinated at the restless way he moved. He was studying all of the posters, mostly focused around women and pregnancy, with an expression of slight distaste on his face. Rachel had to fight not to giggle at the way he looked; she could only imagine how thrilled he was to see what women look like on the inside; it wasn't pretty. She briefly wondered if he had gone to any of Quinn's appointments. She knew he was with her when the baby was born, but she somehow couldn't see the Puck of her sophomore year suffering through prenatal visits. Nor could she see Quinn necessarily wanting him there, even when they were dating. While he paced around, Britt started talking, drawing Rachel's gaze to her.

"So, are you going to call Kevin and tell him what the baby is?" she asked curiously.

Rachel darted her eyes back to Puck in time to see an irritated expression cross his face at the mention of Kevin. She remembered that he hadn't seemed happy that she was going on a date with him.

Meeting Brittany's eyes again, she said, "I'm calling Heather of course; I promised I would. I'm not sure whether or not I should call Kevin though. I'm not sure what the protocol is for including him in the pregnancy given that the baby isn't his."

"Damn right the baby isn't his," Puck mumbled just loud enough to carry to the two girls who exchanged an amused look but otherwise ignored him.

"Well," Brittany stated in a contemplative voice. "You should probably go ahead and call him. I know that he's been worried about you ever since I mentioned that your car caught on fire and..." Brittany cut herself off with a gasp.

As Rachel dropped her head into her hands and prayed Noah hadn't heard what Brittany just said, she knew that it was futile.

ooooo

The silence in the room was so complete that Puck could hear the ticking of Berry's watch. He was trying to figure out if he had just heard what he thought he heard. He could have sworn that Brittany had just mentioned Berry's car had caught on fire, but that couldn't be right. Berry had promised him that she would park the car because it was unsafe. So Brittany's words didn't make any fucking sense. He looked at the blonde and saw that she looked horrified, so, a sinking feeling in his stomach, he turned to Berry. When he saw that she had covered her face, he knew that he hadn't misheard. He tried to leash the fury that he could feel rising in him.

"You took the car out?" he asked in a tightly controlled voice. "What in the hell were you thinking?"

Puck was pretty proud of himself; he hadn't yelled (and he _really_ fucking wanted to). Berry's face was still in her hands, so her response was so muffled that he had to step closer to hear her, missing the first few words.

"...my date. I had to drive myself, just in case."

Brow furrowing, Puck tried to guess at what Berry had said that he had missed. He realized that Berry must have said that she drove her deathtrap to her date Sunday night. Then he realized that she had raised her head and was staring at him, cheeks pink with embarrassment.

"There was a loophole, you know? I never told you that I would park the car that day. And I really did plan to stop driving it after the date!" she defended herself eagerly, voice rising. "It was just extraordinarily awful luck that the car caught on fire the very last time that I planned to drive it!"

Puck had been a badass long enough for a part of him to be impressed with Berry's exploitation of a loophole. It was damn smart of her. However, the larger and much louder part of his brain was screaming at him that she had broken her promise to him to _go out with another guy_. He didn't know why that last portion made it so much worse; he just knew that if the car had caught on fire while she was driving to the store he'd be less pissed. Still pissed of course, but less so. But the thought that she could have died because she just had to see the other guy...

"That was a dumbass move Berry," he pointed out in restrained voice. Puck was still putting in the effort to control his temper. He didn't want to run her off by yelling at her now that she was finally letting him into her life. "You put yourself and our baby in danger just so you could see some douche." He ignored Brittany's cry of 'Hey!'. "From now on, if you make a promise to me I expect you to keep it. I won't watch you fucking get hurt just because you don't want to listen to me."

"Then you should close the loopholes in the promises you extract from me from now on!" Berry burst out as if she just couldn't help herself. She looked horrified afterward and clapped her hands over her mouth, cheeks reddening even further.

Again Puck felt two different emotions. Part of him thought it was really funny that she was standing up to him even though she was clearly fucking _wrong_ this time (_for once!_). He was also pissed that she wasn't just agreeing with him.

That must have been what showed on his face because she unclasped her hands and rushed to add, "But I'll keep my promises from now on. Anyway," she continued in a calmer, much more normal voice, "if Kevin asks me out again, I feel comfortable enough to let him just pick me up."

Ignoring the uncomfortable and really weird rush of anger he felt at those words (_because what the hell?_), Puck wondered if he could make Berry promise not to see the other dude. If he could just get her to fucking promise...well, he wasn't above using her guilt about breaking her last promise against her. But he didn't get a chance to come up with a plan of attack because the doctor entered the room (which was probably a good thing because he was really fucking confused about his feelings right now).

"Hi Mommy!" she called out cheerfully, shutting the door behind her. "How are you feeling today?"

"Quite good, actually," Berry responded, shifting slightly on the exam table, the paper crinkling loudly.

The doctor faced the three of them. "Hi Brittany. What's the baby name for this week?"

Puck watched Brittany smile brightly at the doctor. "It's Tiger Lily! Cute, huh?"

Puck fought not to gape at the blonde. _Tiger Lily? She couldn't be fucking serious_.

The doctor grinned at her, humor clear on her face. "It's definitely unique."

Puck wondered how many appointments Brittany had come to that took this exact form. Probably a lot given how well the doctor seemed to know her. The thought caused another pang of guilt that he had missed so much; he doubted that feeling would ever go away.

The older woman turned curious eyes on him. "And who are you?"

Pushing aside yet another stab of shame (_because Berry's doctor should have already fucking known who he is instead of Brittany_), he answered awkwardly. "Noah Puckerman. I'm the baby's dad."

A flash of surprise crossed her face but she held out her hand to shake his, her smile never wavering. "It's nice to meet you Noah. I'm Dr. Greenman. I'll be taking care of Rachel's pregnancy through the baby's birth."

He shook her hand, wondering how much she knew about his situation with Berry. If she knew everything, she wasn't letting it affect her behavior because she moved to Berry's side to continue the appointment as if nothing was different from her previous visits (even though he knew his presence was a huge fucking change).

Puck watched the doctor's actions. This appointment was so fucking different from any doctor appointment he'd ever been to. Sure, he'd had a kid once before, but Quinn never let him go to the doctor with her. She said that she was uncomfortable having him there. So, toward the end of her pregnancy, once she had finally let him in, she had made him wait in the waiting room for her. He was there for the birth, but given the way she screamed at him, he thought she hadn't actually wanted him there for that either. He pulled himself from his thoughts and watched in fascination as Dr. Greenman measured Berry's bare stomach and then winced when she started pressing down in several places on her baby bump. He had to remind himself that she wasn't squishing his baby; she was a doctor, so she wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Didn't stop him from breathing a sigh of relief when she finally stopped though. The whole time the three women chatted pleasantly, basically ignoring his presence entirely.

Finally, Dr. Greenman left the room and returned a short time later with a piece of equipment with a monitor attached. She pushed it in front of the exam table where Berry had sat up to wait. Puck listened carefully while the doctor explained the sonogram process. When Berry nodded knowingly, he was reminded that this wasn't going to be the first time she would see their baby. Again, an inner voice reminded him that if he hadn't been a huge fucking asshole he would have seen the baby before too. He ruthlessly shoved that voice aside and moved behind where Berry was laying back while the doctor squirted some gel on her stomach. He needed to be able to see and since Brittany was at Berry's side (he had a strong desire to push her out of the way and take her spot), he had to settle for standing behind them.

The doctor lowered a wand to the gel and spread it around, keeping her eyes on the screen which had filled with a black and white static. After just a few seconds, she found what she was looking for because the static broke and Puck found himself staring at a black and white image of a baby. He could also hear a weird sound that sounded almost like liquid but under that, he could hear what was unmistakably a heartbeat.

Dr. Greenman looked past Berry to smile at him. "There's your baby." Her smile grew when she saw that none of the three of them were paying any attention to her because their eyes were all glued to the screen.

Puck felt staggered. The only other time that he had ever felt anything like this was the first time he held his first daughter. That was more sad than anything else though because he knew that he had to give her away. Staring at this baby, he was stunned because he would get to keep this one. He couldn't wrap his mind around it; it was just so fucking _real_ now. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the image.

"Can you tell what it is?"

Berry's voice, thicker than usual, got his attention. Looking down at her, he saw that she had Brittany's hand in hers and her eyes were gleaming with tears.

The doctor adjusted the wand and the image on the screen changed. She studied the image for a moment and then smiled.

"Do you see right here?" she asked, redirecting Puck's attention back to his baby. "These three lines are labia. You're having a little girl."

Puck felt the news like a blow to the gut; the air had been knocked out of him. He was going to have a little girl. A little girl that he'd have to protect. He watched as Dr. Greenman adjusted the image back to a full view of the baby's profile. _Holy shit_, the tiny girl on the screen was going to depend on him for protection and happiness. He could feel the panic setting in. How in the hell was he ever going to be good enough for her?

He jumped slightly, startled, when a small warm hand enclosed his. Looking down, he found Berry staring up at him, tears running silently down her cheeks. She beamed, her happiness practically glowing off of her.

"We're going to have a daughter," she whispered in a choked voice.

And just like that, the panic faded. He knew it would come back later, but looking down at Berry he was reminded that he wasn't in this alone. The two of them were going to be parents together and in that second he knew that they could handle anything that happened. Twining his fingers with hers, he squeezed her hand gently before turning his eyes back to the screen-their baby; their daughter. He was oddly happy to feel her return the squeeze.

Neither noticed the speculative way Brittany was watching them, but both heard her announce smugly, "I told you it was a girl!"

Startled laughter broke through the exam room and on the screen, Puck watched his daughter insert a thumb into her mouth. He could swear that she was waving her free fingers at him.

He had fallen in love.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: I know it's been a really long time since I posted the last chapter to this story. Those of you who read my Harry Potter story, Reluctant Promises, already know that I have had a crappy time in real life over the past few months. But for the rest of you, the past few months haven't been easy on me, so I haven't been in the mood to write. I've been feeling the urge again, so in addition to RP's new chapter and my Glee drabbles (Short Scenes from Multiple Lives-check it out if you haven't had the chance yet), I've decided to add a chapter to this one. Thanks for your patience during the wait. Please let me know what you think about this chapter! I'd love to know if you guys still care about this story. Not to mention my addiction to reviews.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Rachel felt like she was walking through a dream world. A little girl. She was going to have a daughter. She and Noah were going to have a daughter.

She would never hear the end of this from Brittany.

Rachel was so lost in thought that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Consequently, she walked right into a heavily pregnant woman who was on her way inside the building.

"Sorry," she apologized absently, not noticing the dirty look the other woman cast her.

Now that she knew what the baby was (_a girl!_ a voice in her head screamed excitedly), she had so much to do. She needed to start picking out clothing; maybe if she bought one outfit a payday, it wouldn't seem like it cost so much. Plus, she could call Brittany's sister Heather and see if the offer of Anna's old baby clothing was still good. The apartment didn't have room for a nursery, so the baby was going to share her room until she and Britt could get a larger apartment. Still, it was time to look into buying a crib and bedding. Rachel shoved aside her thoughts of how expensive everything would be and instead focused on the excitement of finally being able to prepare for the baby's arrival. She wondered if Brittany would have time this week between work and school to go shopping with her for baby stuff. Even if she didn't buy anything, it would give her a better idea of cost, what she needed, and what she wanted.

"Berry, are you listening to me?"

Snapping out of her fog, Rachel looked over at Noah, who was walking next to her.

"Sorry," she apologized again. "Were you saying something?"

He shrugged the apology off. "Just asking what you're doing for dinner. My mom wanted to invite you over."

Rachel blushed. "So she knows then? She was so nice when I was in the hospital, but I bet she hates me now, huh?"

He shook his head. "Actually, she was mostly pissed at me for trying to take the free pass. She knew before I did that I wouldn't be able to. I think she just wants to get to know you better."

"As much as I would like that, I have to go back to work. Henry gave me a split shift so that I could come to the appointment, but I'm still scheduled until nine tonight," she explained.

"Oh."

Rachel was surprised by the disappointment that she could hear in his tone, so she searched for something a bit happier to talk about. She could talk about the baby, but things felt a little awkward after the heavy emotions of the sonogram. Luckily, Puck changed the subject.

"You know that Brittany's never going to shut the fuck up now about how she was right," he said with a smirk.

She gave a small laugh at their similar trains of thought. "Where did she go, anyway?"

Noah gestured behind the two of them, so Rachel stopped between Brittany's car and Noah's truck and turned around. Brittany was walking behind them, focused intently on her phone. They watched as she lifted it to her ear, and when she began to speak, Rachel clearly heard what she was saying.

"It's a girl!"

Rachel exchanged a look with Noah. Who was she talking to?

"Okay, Mike. I've gotta go. I still have to call everyone else."

While Noah shook his head, Rachel bit back a grin. Brittany was so excited that she almost didn't want to tell her to stop, but if she didn't Brittany wouldn't leave anyone for Rachel to tell! She knew Brittany well enough to know that.

"Hey, Britt!" she shouted.

Brittany looked up from searching through her phone for the next person. "Huh?"

"Do you plan on letting me tell anyone that we're having a girl?"

Brittany gave her a sheepish grin as she reached them. "Sorry. I'm just so excited!"

"That we're having a girl?" Noah questioned.

"That I was right!" Brittany exclaimed happily, all tension with him forgotten for the moment.

There was a moment of complete silence, and then all of them, Noah included, broke into laughter.

"Nevertheless," Rachel started when she had recovered, "you have to let me tell our friends." Noah cleared his throat next to her, so she glanced over at him. "Oh, you can tell your family. I get to tell everyone else."

Noah glared at her. "Why do you get to tell everyone else?"

Rachel's joy died a little. "Because they're all I have."

A tense quiet fell as they all heard the words that she hadn't said - that she didn't have any family who cared that she was having a girl. Brittany, always quick to try to rescue Rachel from her sadness, was the one to break the silence.

"Can I at least tell my family? Please?" she begged.

Pretending everything was normal, Rachel forced a smile. "Yeah, you can tell them."

Brittany immediately began searching through her phone again, so Rachel quickly reminded her, "But I want to tell Kevin myself, okay?"

At the mention of Kevin's name, Puck stalked around to the passenger side of his truck. Rachel and Brittany watched him for a moment before Brittany leaned over.

"He doesn't like my brother much, does he?" she asked in a whisper.

"He doesn't know him, so he can't not like him," Rachel replied, just as quietly. "So, I don't know what's wrong with him."

The two of them watched his jerky movements while he got something out of his truck. Rachel honestly didn't know why Puck seemed so angry every time she mentioned Kevin. Maybe he was just directing his anger over her car fire at her new suitor because he was the reason she was driving the car that night. Yeah, that was the only thing that made any sense at all. Otherwise, it was probably just the same annoyance that he had over Finn's closeness to the baby at the party.

"I need to take Rachel back to work, Puck," Brittany announced in a decisive tone.

Rachel heard the edge reappear in her tone, but at least Brittany seemed to be trying to be civil. She just hoped the blonde would continue her efforts, because Rachel really wanted her baby's dad and aunt to get along.

Puck acknowledged Brittany's words with a nod as he came back around the truck, holding something fluffy and gray. When he reached them, he held the bundle out to Rachel. She raised an eyebrow at him as she took it.

"It's my school sweatshirt. It should last you the whole pregnancy," he stated gruffly.

Rachel unfolded it and held it up. The gray sweatshirt had the words Ohio State emblazoned over a big red O in the center of the chest. It was heavy, so she knew that it would be warm. It was also way bigger than anything she owned, including the shirts Noah had already given her; he had obviously picked the size for comfort. It would probably be too warm at the end of her pregnancy for the sweatshirt, but it would get plenty of use over the next few months.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, glad that her eyes were dry this time.

"Put it on. If you don't want to wear your coat, I want you to at least wear that," he instructed.

A twinge of guilt passed through Rachel. She may have (involuntarily) come clean about the car fire, but she hadn't exactly explained that her coat had burned in it too. The moment was so nice that she didn't want to ruin it, though. Rachel pulled the sweatshirt over her head, immediately grateful for the additional warmth. Snuggling into the fabric, Rachel smiled up at Noah.

"Come on, Rachel," Brittany said impatiently from the open driver side door. "You're going to be late."

"I have to go, but I'll talk to you later this week?" Rachel asked curiously.

She was still leaving it up to Noah to contact her, but they had made such progress that she didn't feel too weird soliciting the call.

"Yeah. I'll check in," Noah agreed.

Satisfied, Rachel got into Brittany's car. Maybe she and Noah could make this parenting thing work.

ooooo

By the time Puck reached his mom's house, he still hadn't fully recovered from the awe of seeing his little girl for the first time. Not even the reminders that Berry had lost her fathers and that she was dating some douche he'd never met had killed the feeling.

Dr. Greenman had printed out a sonogram picture for him and he was actually excited to show it to his mom. He knew that she'd be happy to see her first picture of her granddaughter. He frowned as he pulled open the front door. She wouldn't be so happy when she found out that Berry couldn't come to dinner tonight. She was clearly anxious to know Berry better because she had told him to invite her over at least five times over the past two days, including a phone call last night specifically to remind him.

When Puck entered the house, he found his sister doing her homework at the kitchen table while his mom stood in front of the open refrigerator.

"I'm here," he announced, ruffling Hannah's hair, much to her annoyance.

"What do you think Rachel would like to eat?" his mom asked without turning around.

Puck ignored the now irrelevant question and instead said, "I have a picture to show you."

Interest piqued, his mom shut the fridge and turned around to face him. "Really?"

Puck pulled the black and white photo out of his jeans pocket and held it out to her. "It's a girl."

His mom was silent for a few moments while she studied it, eyes wide. Just as Puck was starting to get uncomfortable with the silence, she sobbed.

And made him even more uncomfortable.

"Why are you crying? There's no reason to cry!" he exclaimed in a panicked tone.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping a tear from her cheek. "It's just that I have a granddaughter and I'll actually get to hold her and talk to her and hear her call me Grandma."

His mom lovingly ran her finger over the shape of his daughter in the picture and Puck realized that she was experiencing exactly what he, Berry, and even Brittany (who he could admit would be a kick-ass aunt) had at the doctor's office. Obviously the sonogram had made the baby real to her too (even so, he wasn't about to give her his only photo of his daughter). He decided to allow her a few minutes to absorb the information before he stole his picture back and broke the bad news that Berry was working tonight.

"What do you mean, you have a granddaughter?" Hannah's voice startled them out of their reverie. When Puck guiltily looked at her, her green eyes narrowed. "You're having a baby? I'm going to be an aunt and nobody bothered to tell me?"

Puck flinched at the shrill pitch of her voice while his mom tried to pacify her.

"It was a complicated situation that you're too young to understand. It's resolved now, so we were going to tell you tonight," she elaborated in a way that Puck knew would just annoy Hannah.

"I'm too young to understand? Do I have to remind you that I was eight the first time Puck knocked up some girl and I understood then?" Hannah frowned at Puck. "At least tell me it's not that snooty bitch Quinn this time."

"Hannah!" their mother admonished while Puck snorted in laughter.

"No, it's not Quinn," he reassured her.

"Then who is it? Please don't say it's Santana; she's even worse than Quinn!" Hannah whined piercingly.

"Inside voice," his mom reprimanded her, still scowling over her earlier language.

Puck shook his head. "It's definitely not Santana."

A shudder of revulsion ran through him at the thought of being tied to Santana for life. Once again, he found himself grateful that Berry was the woman he'd 'knocked up' as his sister so eloquently put it (and he never in a million years would have thought he'd feel that way).

"Then who?" Hannah repeated.

"Do you remember the Berrys from temple?" he questioned.

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. We only saw them there last week."

He knew his sister was smart, so he gave her a chance to figure it out for herself.

"And Rachel Berry was there and she was pregnant and you talked to her!" she rushed out all in one long breath. "You got Rachel Berry pregnant!"

Proud of his sister for so quickly reaching the right conclusion (and still a little proud of knocking up Berry, of all people – _he was such a stud_), Puck gifted his sister with a rare real smile.

"Yeah, I did," he agreed smugly.

When his mom and Hannah both rolled their eyes in response to his tone, he realized how many times he had seen Berry pull that exact move in the past. He wondered if it was a family trait that his daughter would inherit from all of her female relatives or if it was just one of those things that all girls did.

"Anyway," his sister said in an exasperated tone, "I'm glad it was Rachel."

He raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

She nodded. "At least with Rachel for a mom, my niece won't be a complete dork like her dad. She might actually be cool and I bet she'll be really talented."

When Puck opened his mouth to argue (about the dork part; he knew that between him and Berry, his daughter would be a talented badass), his mom cut him off.

"When will Rachel arrive for dinner? I still haven't decided what to make."

Puck grimaced. "She's not coming for dinner. She had to go back to work and she said she'll be there until nine."

Disappointment immediately crossed both his mom's and Hannah's faces. Puck felt oddly like he was letting them down even though he had no control over Berry's work schedule. He didn't like the feeling, so he vowed never to fail his daughter (he refused to call her Tiger Lily, even mentally – _no fucking way was he giving into Brittany on the name thing_).

The room felt so heavy that Puck was surprised when his mom smiled down at the sonogram picture.

"You know, I think I feel like a cheeseburger for dinner tonight," she declared, looking up at him and Hannah with a grin.

Puck knew that he'd gotten his badassness (badassery?) from somewhere.

"I just want to make one quick stop first," he concurred. He hesitated before continuing, "And, uh, can I have my picture back?"

ooooo

Rachel dropped her tray on the counter. It had been a long evening. The elation of learning that she was having a daughter had died down some with her return to the diner. Checking the clock on the wall, she frowned when she saw that it was already 7:30. Henry should have sent her on break half an hour ago. Ever since he'd taken a phone call shortly after her return, there had been something really odd going on with him.

Shrugging off her concerns, Rachel took the brief moment of quiet to reflect on the others' responses to her news. Estelle had even stopped by later than normal for her daily coffee so that Rachel would be back. She had immediately begun twittering about all the things Rachel had to do to prepare for the arrival. Brent had let out a decidedly unmanly shriek of happiness before contributing his suggestions for names (among them Barbra, Bette, and Beyonce - she briefly wondered if she should introduce him to Kurt). Henry had happily announced to the entire diner that his grandemployee was going to be a cute, little girl and then gave all of the customers a scoop of celebratory ice cream on him. The other employees, not knowing Rachel very well, had been mostly indifferent about the news.

The diner group wasn't the end of the jubilation though. On the drive to the diner, Rachel had tried to get a hold of the rest of the original glee members (the ones she thought would care, at least). The only one she'd managed to reach was Finn, who had apparently answered his phone in the library given the copious shooshing she heard in the background when he had gotten loudly excited at the news. She had left messages for Tina, Artie, Matt, and Quinn. She also left a voicemail for Kevin. Her phone, set to vibrate, had been buzzing all night. When she'd gone on a water break, she had checked her messages to find that all four gleeks, plus Mike, Brittany's mom, and Heather had left their congratulations. Kevin was the only one she hadn't heard back from. Given how many people seemed to be happy for her, Rachel was pretty proud that she hadn't broken into tears since the sonogram.

Rachel pulled out of her daydreaming when she saw that one of her tables needed refills. Sighing deeply and wishing Henry would let her have dinner already, she snagged her tray and headed over to collect the nearly empty glasses. When the bell over the door rang as she dropped them off after refilling them, she fought back annoyance. If people kept coming in, Henry would never let her have her break!

She heard Brent greet the customers, so she moved to one of her other tables to give them their check and ask if they wanted dessert. Rachel had just reached the table when the most delicious scent wafted to her. Even as she began to salivate, she knew that it had to be her imagination. No one would buy McDonald's and then come to Barb's to eat it. And Brittany wasn't off work yet. Trying to ignore the imaginary scent of her favorite craving (that she hadn't eaten since the day Noah found out about the baby), she finished taking care of the customers.

Turning around, Rachel came face to chest with Noah, who was holding a familiar white paper bag.

Subtly sniffing in the direction of the bag, she questioned, "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and her eyes followed the slight upward shift of the bag. "Wanted a burger." He gestured behind himself. "Mom wanted to talk to you about Morgan."

"Morgan?"

"Yeah, after Captain Morgan," he clarified.

Rachel frowned. "Yeeeaaah. I'm still going with Tiger Lily." She looked past him and saw his mom and sister watching the two of them, identical expressions of amusement on their faces. "Hi, Ms. Puckerman. Hi, Hannah."

"Again, it's Dani, Rachel," the older woman responded with a smile.

Rachel blushed slightly. "Sorry, I forgot." Remembering her job, she cast one last, longing look at the McDonald's bag in Noah's hand before going professional. "Please, pick a table. Either Brent or I will be with you shortly."

"We actually have reservations," Dani stated, glancing in the direction of the counter.

Following her eyes, Rachel spotted Henry watching them with a small smile on his face. He must have taken the information that she was letting Noah be part of the baby's life to heart if he was conspiring with the Puckermans.

"Go ahead and take your break, Rachel," he said when he noticed that she was gazing at him.

Smiling in relief, Rachel hurried to the counter and dropped her tray on it again. She was so excited to get off her feet, even if it was for only fifteen minutes. She faced the room to find Noah, Dani, and Hannah standing right where she had left them. When she reached them, Hannah finally spoke for the first time.

"Hey, Mom, let's find a table."

Grabbing Dani's arm, Hannah dragged her away from Noah and Rachel.

"Here."

Noah thrust the McDonald's bag into Rachel's hands. Opening it, she gazed down at the crispy, salty, golden-brown heaven inside.

"You brought me fries?" she asked in a choked voice.

Noah nodded tersely. The thoughtfulness in the gesture – that he would not only remember the craving she had mentioned on Saturday but also indulge it without her having to ask – broke the dam that had been holding back her tears since the appointment. Bursting into noisy sobs, she threw her arms around Noah. Heedless of the way he stiffened, she buried her face in his chest. She just couldn't believe that _Noah_ could be so sweet and it was too much for her fragile hormones after such a heavily emotional day.

He patted her awkwardly on the back while simultaneously pushing her away. "Okay, Berry. Stop crying."

The obvious alarm in his voice broke through her bawling and she pulled back from him, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry," she apologized, cheeks turning red.

Already feeling embarrassed (_she cried on Noah!_), she hurried to the booth that Dani and Hannah had picked out. She was relieved to find that they had taken a seat on either side of the table because that meant Rachel didn't have to sit next to Noah and risk touching him again. She slid in next to Hannah.

"What are you going to name my niece?" Hannah pounced on Rachel immediately. "Because you can't let my brother name her. He has terrible taste in girl names. They're all movie and video game characters or alcohol. I don't want my nice getting her butt kicked every day because you let Noah pick her name."

Rachel laughed as she turned the white bag upside down and dumped out the salty goodness. She could definitely see a family resemblance between Noah and Hannah.

"I haven't picked a name yet. Brittany, my best friend, gives her a new name every week. It's Tiger Lily right now."

Hannah's nose wrinkled. "That sucks too."

Dani scowled. "Language, Hannah."

The young girl frowned. "Well, it does." She turned her frown on Rachel and Noah, who had joined them, carrying a tray with three cheeseburgers and fries (_They must have ordered when they made their 'reservations'_, Rachel mused). "Why can't you guys pick a normal name? You know my favorite name? Leah."

"That's a very nice, Jewish name," Dani approved. "Maybe you two should consider a Jewish name."

While Puck muttered something unintelligible, Rachel shoved a couple of fries into her mouth. She had nothing against Jewish names; she just didn't like many of them. She wanted her daughter's name to make a statement, not 'I'm the daughter of a hippie' or 'I'm the daughter of an alcoholic', but something strong. She just didn't know what yet.

Dani must have sensed their reluctance about the subject because she changed the subject.

"Noah tells me that you're living with Brittany. Are you comfortable there? You can move in with us if you'd like."

Rachel didn't even have to consider the offer. "I'm touched by the thought, but I'm happy with Brittany. She's my best friend and she's been there for me from the instant she learned I was pregnant."

The silence that followed was awkward as Dani glared at Noah and Noah glared at Rachel over the implication of the words (even though Rachel hadn't intended to bring up Noah's avoidance of her). Hannah, oblivious to the tension and bored by the conversation, swirled two of her fries in the lake of ketchup on her plate.

Rachel cleared her throat. "Besides, it would be way too crowded once the baby came."

Dani shook her head. "We could make it work, even after Noah moves back."

"Mom," Noah interrupted, mouth full of burger, as a buzzing began in Rachel's head.

"We could turn the basement into an extra bedroom for you and the baby. Hannah could keep her room and Noah could keep his, although you could stay there while we remodeled. We have nearly two weeks before Noah moves back in," Dani finished, taking a decisive bite from her own cheeseburger.

"Mom," Noah said again, louder this time.

"Moves back? Two weeks?" Rachel felt like a parrot and a broken one, at that. "Noah's moving back to Lima in two weeks?" She finally managed to connect all of the dots.

Dani glanced from Rachel's wide, confused eyes to the way Noah was shaking his head and swallowed.

"You didn't tell her yet?"

"I haven't had a chance," Noah defended.

"Oh, untrue," Rachel broke in, jabbing a fry at him. "You could have mentioned it at any point today. Brittany wasn't even with us on the walk back to our cars."

Puck scowled at her. "Like you would have heard me. You were ignoring me that whole time."

Gearing up for a full argument, Rachel tossed down her fry and squared her shoulders. "It's hardly my fault if you can't be bothered to notice whether I'm listening. How long ago did you decide to come back to Lima?"

Again, Puck mumbled something before stuffing three fries in his mouth.

"What?" Rachel asked sharply, picking her (caffeine free) soda up.

He swallowed. "I said Friday night."

"You could have told me at any point this weekend!" she exclaimed, waving her arm through the air and sloshing soda onto the table. "You can't move back to Lima!"

"Why not? Afraid I'll get in the way of your oh-so-perfect life?" he questioned sarcastically, ears red with anger. "I thought you wanted my support!"

Hurt that he would drag the way her life had fallen apart into the argument, her anger drained away and she fought back tears instead.

"I do," she said quietly, setting her glass down. "But I already had to give up my dreams for our daughter. You shouldn't have to give up yours too."

Those words stunned Noah into silence. Hannah was watching the two of them with her mouth hanging open, burger mid-air. However, Dani's expression was shrewd, as if she had picked up on something that no one else had.

"I'm still going to school," Noah explained when he was able to speak again. "I'm just transferring to the Lima extension."

"Okay."

Rachel didn't know what more to say to that. It would take a while for her to adjust to the thought that Noah was in town. Given his behavior since their talk after temple, she suspected that she would see a lot of him, probably more than she wanted to. Things were quiet while they finished eating. When they were finished, Dani started talking again.

"Well, Rachel, when can you…"

Rachel's phone started vibrating. She hadn't heard from Kevin yet, so she checked the display. Grinning when she saw his name, she interrupted Dani.

"I'm sorry, but I have to take this. I'll just be a moment."

Sliding out of the booth, Rachel moved toward the door for privacy as she answered. "Hi, Kevin."

"Hello, Rachel," he replied, his voice more serious than usual. "I'm sorry it took me so long to call you back, but I did tell you that I can't answer my phone at work. If I need to talk to you, I'll call."

Scared that she had already screwed up her relationship with the perfect man (and the _only one_ who would want her now), Rachel quickly became contrite.

"I won't do it again. I was just so excited that I had to. I'm having a girl."

"Just see that you don't." Kevin's tone perked up to the one Rachel was used to. "A girl, huh? I bet she'll be a cutie, just like her mom. I have to get back to work, but I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven like I promised last night. I think we should catch the high school's basketball game; I haven't been to one in ages."

Rachel's phone went silent as Kevin hung up. He hadn't given her a chance to tell him that she found basketball incredibly boring. Oh well, her only idea was the community theater's production of Westside Story, and Kevin had made it clear on their first date that he didn't like musical theater. Shrugging, Rachel stuffed her phone back in her pocket and returned to the table.

"I apologize. That was my…" she hesitated. "Well, I don't think he's my boyfriend yet, but he is the guy I'm dating, and it's going really well, so…" she trailed off.

Dani smiled gently at her. "What's his name?"

Rachel beamed at the chance to talk about Kevin. "His name is Kevin; he's Brittany's older brother. He's wonderful – extremely attentive and very supportive about my dads and the baby. He's a police officer though, so he can't take phone calls at work. That's why he told me to answer the phone whenever he calls. I am sorry for being rude, though."

Rachel was so lost in her thoughts of Kevin that she missed the significant look that Dani and Noah exchanged. Dani clearing her throat brought Rachel out of her reverie.

"When can you go shopping this week?" she asked.

Rachel's smile hadn't faded. "I'm off tomorrow and Thursday. I was going to take Brittany with me to look at some baby stuff, although I don't actually plan to buy anything yet."

"I was actually thinking about shopping for maternity clothing," Dani corrected her. "I've saved up a bit of money and I thought I'd treat you to some new stuff."

Rachel blushed. "I couldn't possibly accept anything. Besides, I already have the four shirts that Noah gave me and Brittany bought me a pair of maternity jeans."

"You'll need more than that to get through the next five and a half months. Does your coat even fit anymore?"

Her blush deepened. "My coat actually burned up when my car caught fire Sunday night."

"What?" Noah erupted. "You told me this afternoon that you had left it here!"

"We were finally getting along and I didn't want to ruin it!"

Noah and Rachel glared at each other until Hannah spoke up.

"How old are you two? 'Cause I'm more mature," she stated matter-of-factly before turning to her mom. "Can you go shopping after school so I can come too? Ooh, and can we invite Brittany? Noah never let me meet her, but she sounds really nice."

"Really? Brittany can come too?" Rachel broke her staring contest with Noah and looked at Dani for confirmation.

"Of course. She's going to be a major part of my granddaughter's life; I'd like to know her better."

Rachel nodded. "Okay then. I'm not saying I'll let you buy anything for me, but there's no reason why we can't window shop."

Dani made a face in a gesture of immaturity that Rachel didn't expect. "I don't have to work tomorrow either, so why don't we go then?"

Henry was gesturing for Rachel to return to work, so she slid out of the booth. "That works out well because aside from two classes, Brittany's off too. We can meet you at Target at four, if that's okay?" Dani nodded, so Rachel continued, "It was very nice seeing you." She turned her attention on Noah. "Thank you for the fries. I've been craving them and they were absolutely delicious."

Five minutes later, Dani paid the check for their order. Rachel waved at them as they left. As far as first meetings with the mother of the guy she seduced and got pregnant with go, Rachel thought that one had gone quite well.

Of course, she didn't have anything to judge by. Maybe she should ask Noah.

ooooo

Puck wasn't in the best mood when they left the diner. The meeting between his mom and Berry, the first since she found out that Berry's baby was actually his too, had gone pretty well. It was definitely better than when his mom and Quinn met for the first time.

That wasn't why he was feeling slightly angry. It didn't even have anything to do with his mom spilling that he was moving back to town (he now knew how Berry had felt earlier when Brittany told about the car fire). That had to come out eventually, and at least now she knew.

No, his bad mood had everything to do with that Kevin bastard. Puck didn't like the way Rachel had rushed to answer his call. He was also suspicious of the douche's claim that he couldn't answer his phone at work. Before he had run off, Puck's dad was an officer with the Lima force, and Puck's mom had never had a problem contacting him at work. The only time he couldn't answer was if he was on a call. In Lima, those were fairly rare.

Puck said goodbye to his mom and sister and climbed into his truck to head back to Columbus. His mom seemed really happy, and Hannah didn't complain as much as usual when he messed up her hair. Seeing them more often was one more good thing that had come out of this. He almost asked his mom to keep an eye on Berry and her boyfriend, but he didn't; he didn't want to seem like a pussy.

But there was something about Kevin that just didn't sit right with him.

ooooo

Rachel was staring at the clock. She only had five more minutes on her shift and then she could go home. Her feet and back were killing her. She was wearing flats because it seemed like they would be safer than something with a heel, but she was starting to wonder if something with a low heel would give her more support.

Deciding that standing in one spot was just making it worse, she moved into the kitchen. Now that her fry craving had been taken care of, she was craving something sweet. She was in the large walk-in freezer when Brent poked his head in.

"Hey, Rach, there's a new customer in your section. Last of the night; she slipped in right before I locked the doors."

Rachel sighed. Of course.

"Okay, I'm coming."

Leaving behind the chocolate ice cream that she had been eyeing, Rachel exited the freezer.

"Do you need any help?" Brent asked, even as he slipped on his coat.

Rachel shook her head. "I'll be fine. Henry's still here; I'll just help him clean up the kitchen when the customer doesn't need me."

"If you're sure." When Rachel nodded, Brent dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you Friday."

Rachel returned the sentiment, glad that Henry so often paired them on similar shifts because of how well they worked together. Rachel followed Brent out of the kitchen, nearly running down Henry on his way in from the restroom.

She spotted a solitary customer sitting at the same booth that she had shared with Noah's family. When she reached the booth and got a good look at the customer, she was surprised to find that it was someone she knew.

"Rachel, why aren't you at Juilliard?"

Rachel turned to the side and shifted her arms to reveal her baby bump.

"Oh, Rachel, sweetie, what happened?"

A/N 2: So, who's the mystery customer? I'm sure some of you will guess who. Very little Brittany this time around, but she should get more time next chapter. I hope you enjoyed seeing more of Dani, Henry, and Brent though, and the introduction to Hannah. Also, in regards to Rachel so easily falling in line with Kevin, keep in mind that, after so many recent rejections, she's in a very fragile emotional state that's easy to take advantage of (trust me; I know from experience). Also, as implied, they have spoken over the phone since their date.


	12. Chapter 11

Spoilers: Possibly up to "Britney/Brittany", although some things may have been altered based on what I wrote before season one ended.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Yay! Another chapter, and so soon after the last. Weird, huh? I actually really enjoyed this chapter and feel like it makes a lot of progress with the story, so I'd love to know if ya'll agree. I will begin this chapter with a list of differences between my story and the series due to the fact that I started writing the story before the back nine of last season had finished airing. I just don't want there to be any confusion when the facts in the story don't match the current facts of the show, especially because some will come into play this chapter. I'd love to know if you guys still care about this story. Not to mention my addiction to reviews.  
List of relevant differences between story and show:  
1. Beth went to adoptive parents (plural), so Shelby doesn't have her.  
2. Rachel is not a vegetarian.  
3. Matt never transferred out of McKinley High.  
4. Brittany's last name is Nolan.  
5. Puck never got a vasectomy (obviously).  
I think that covers the differences, but if I think of any more, I will add them to the list in later chapters.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

"Oh, Rachel, sweetie, what happened?"

Rachel felt overwhelmed by emotion as she stared into the face of her birth mother, a face she hadn't seen since Regionals sophomore year. Shelby was one of her parents, and she wasn't running. She had asked about Rachel as if she actually cared about her. Rachel cursed her hormones as her tears welled up.

"It's all so wrong," she sobbed raggedly.

Shelby frowned. "Sit down, Rachel."

Rachel sank into the side of the booth opposite Shelby's. Even though the tears were still rolling down her cheeks, she could feel embarrassment setting in. Shelby might be her birth mother, but, as she had told Rachel, she wasn't her mom. Still, when Shelby asked Rachel what had happened yet again, she couldn't stop herself from pouring out the entire story, from the day she found out she was pregnant to her car fire Sunday night.

"Nothing was supposed to happen like this. It was supposed to be just one really good memory to take with me to school," she finished twenty minutes later, voice slightly hoarse but tears gone.

Shelby was staring at her, eyes wide. Whatever she had expected Rachel to say, it clearly wasn't what she had. Her birth mother had remained silent throughout the entire tale, only hissing slightly when Rachel explained how her fathers had disowned her. Now it seemed as if she had lost the ability to speak. The longer the quiet stretched, the more awkward Rachel felt. Maybe she should have just taken her order like she would have any other customer. She wasn't sure why she had broken down like she had. She just knew that Shelby's eyes, so very similar to her own, and filled with a warmth denied her by her fathers, had torn through any defenses that she had built against this woman. If anyone knew what it meant to give up on their dreams, it was Shelby Corcoran.

Shelby may not have expected Rachel's story, but when the older woman finally spoke, Rachel was equally stunned, if not more so, by her response.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, but I don't know you. This is too much for me to deal with," Shelby announced, shaking her head furiously.

Rachel watched her mother practically jump out of the booth and run for the door. She disappeared from the diner, the tinkling of the bell the only sign that she had ever been there.

It took about thirty seconds for Rachel to realize what had happened. When she finally did, she dropped her head to the table and burst into silent tears again.

Why did everyone who was supposed to care about her run away? _Was she so unlovable?_

If neither her fathers nor her mother wanted her, then she must be.

ooooo

Rachel didn't know how long she sat there and cried. Sometime later though, she heard Henry's voice from nearby.

"Thanks, Brittany. I'm not sure what happened. She talked to a customer for a while and then the woman must have left because the next thing I knew, I came out of the kitchen and found her like this," he explained.

"Thank you for calling. I was just about to come down here anyway. She usually gets home ten minutes after her shift ends, so I was starting to worry."

Brittany's comforting voice grew louder as she spoke, so Rachel knew that she was approaching. Rachel looked up when a hand landed on her shoulder. She met Brittany's concerned blue eyes.

"Come on, Rachel. Let's go home."

Rachel let the pajama-clad Brittany (who had clearly gotten ready for bed) pull her out of the booth. Thanking Henry again, the blonde led the brunette from the restaurant and down the street toward their building. It wasn't until they were safely in their apartment and Rachel had pulled on her own pajamas that Brittany finally asked what had happened.

"It's not Tiger Lily, is it?" she asked.

Rachel shook her head.

"Then what was it?" Brittany paused, but when Rachel merely shook her head again, she took a moment to think. "Who did Henry see you talking to at the diner?" she finally inquired.

Rachel looked away from Brittany's gaze. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't really want to talk to Brittany about the fact that yet another parent had rejected her. She felt like Britt had already dealt with way too much of the unpleasant stuff in her life and she didn't want to burden her with more. It was her own fault anyway. She never should have shown weakness the way she had; she knew better than to think Shelby would care what had happened to her.

"I'm tired," she finally stated. "I think I'll go to bed."

Ignoring Brittany's troubled expression, Rachel headed down the hallway to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She hoped that her roommate would take the hint and leave her alone for the night. Turning out the light and crawling under the covers, Rachel buried her head in her pillow. Now that she knew the Nolans, she knew that Brittany couldn't truly understand what it felt like to be abandoned by everyone who was supposed to love her. She tried, but Rachel knew that she could never really get it. That was part of the reason why they rarely talked about Rachel's dads; well, that and the fact that Rachel had cried every time they were mentioned for the first three weeks after they kicked her out.

Rachel was trying to clear her mind and fall asleep when the opening strains of Paramore's "Careful" rang out. That was Noah's ringtone, so she knew that she needed to answer or he would worry that something had happened to the baby. Steeling herself for another difficult conversation (as they all were with Noah), she rolled over and grabbed her phone off the nightstand.

"What is it, Noah?" she answered wearily.

ooooo

Puck was sitting in his dorm room, listening to Aiden complain about the way that Callie had trashed him to some of the girls in their Calculus class, when he remembered something that he had forgotten to ask Berry that day. Checking the alarm on his nightstand, he saw that it was just after 9:30. That meant that Berry should be home from work and probably still awake.

"Can you believe that she could be such a bitch after everything I did for her?" Aiden finished angrily.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Shit, Aiden, that's what happens when you let a woman make you her bitch."

As Puck reached for his phone, Aiden scowled. "And what about you and that Rachel chick?"

Puck frowned. "Berry is my baby mama. She's in a completely different league from chicks like Callie."

"Oh, she is, is she? So, she doesn't ever ask you for anything?"

"No," Puck denied, searching through his phone for Berry's number. "The only thing she wants is for me to be consistent about checking on our daughter. Anything I do for her is because I'm a fucking man and I take care of my family."

Aiden raised an eyebrow at him. "So Rachel's your family now?"

Puck shook his head. "No, but our daughter is. And taking care of her means taking care of Berry. Now shut the fuck up and let me make my call."

Annoyed with his roommate's lack of sympathy to his issues with Callie, Aiden put on his headphones and turned up his I-Pod. He needed to work on his Government assignment anyway. Glad that Aiden would finally leave him alone, Puck hit send on Berry's name. It didn't take long for her to pick up.

"What is it, Noah?"

Puck grimaced at her tone. She had been so loud and enthusiastic (not a word he would normally use, but right) at dinner that she had seemed almost like the Berry he remembered from high school. Now, she sounded more like the broken girl he had met at the diner that first day. _What the fuck had happened since he left her?_

"What's wrong? Is it the baby?" His mind immediately rushed to the worst conclusion – something had happened to their daughter and she was in the hospital again. "I'll be there in an hour and a half tops."

Grabbing his keys off the nightstand, Puck started to rise from the bed. He would drive 85 all the way to Lima if he had to, but no fucking way was he letting her go through this again with only Brittany to help. Aiden, having heard Puck's words through his music, had removed his headphones, set his book aside, and was reaching for his shoes. He clearly planned to come, and, although saying it would make him a pussy, Puck was fucking grateful to have his best friend's support this time.

"No, Noah, it's okay. The baby's fine."

Intense relief rushed through Puck at the words. Covering the receiver of his phone, Puck told Aiden, "She's not at the hospital."

Nodding, Aiden went back to his homework.

"If the baby's okay, then what's wrong?" Puck asked, against his better judgment.

He'd had all he could take of emotional women for the day between Berry and his mom, but if something was stressing Berry out, he needed to know. She'd already almost lost the baby once because of stress.

Berry was quiet for so long that Puck started to wonder if she had hung up on him when he wasn't paying attention. Just when he was about to hang up and try calling her back, she asked him a question.

"Is there something about me that drives people away?"

Puck's entire body immediately tensed up. How in the hell was he supposed to answer that? And why was she asking him?

She must have taken his silence as his answer, because she said, "There is, isn't there? What is it?"

Puck scowled into the phone. "I never fucking said that."

"You didn't say anything. That was enough," she responded softly.

"It's a fucking awkward question, so I didn't know what to say," Puck defended. "What in the hell even happened to make you think that?"

Puck wondered if Kevin had said something to make her so upset. Visions of beating in the smug, tanned face that he had seen in the photo of Brittany's family in the girls' apartment immediately danced through his head.

"Do you remember my mom?" Rachel surprised him by asking. "Shelby Corcoran, the coach for Vocal Adrenaline my sophomore year?"

"Yeah," Puck answered hesitantly. The last time he had seen the woman had been when she showed up at the hospital after Quinn had Beth during Regionals. She had wanted to adopt the baby, but a couple in their late 20's had already filled out all of the paperwork, so Beth went to them. He didn't understand what Shelby had to do with Berry's current mood, though.

"She came into the diner. It was the first time I've seen her since Regionals that year. I…I told her about everything, even about my dads, because she's my mom and I thought she'd understand."

The tone of Berry's voice told Puck that he didn't want to hear the rest of her story, but he couldn't tell her to stop talking either.

"She told me that she doesn't know me; that it was too much for her to deal with," Berry's voice broke, "and then she practically ran from me. So, is there something about me that's unlovable? Because none of my parents want me."

Puck was fucking uncomfortable because he could hear Berry crying into the phone. Yet, there was a small part of him that wished he was there to hold her. He may not understand the whole crying over fries thing that she did earlier, but he fucking got the crying over a parent who's taken off that she was doing right now. He'd been there (years ago, and he swore to this day that he _never_ cried).

"You're fucking insane, a total bitch when you're hormonal, and there are still times when you make me want to set myself on fire," Puck started.

Berry's crying picked up, and he realized that he should probably finish his thought before he made things even worse.

"But," he hurriedly continued. "You're also very smart, scary talented, and you'll be one hell of a mom. So, even though I don't love you, you're not unlovable. Your parents are all just fucking insane to imply that you are."

Quiet greeted his words. The only sounds were Berry's quiet sobs on the other end of the line and the faint noise of Aiden's music. Puck wondered if he had scared her off. Would she kick him out of her life because he had screwed up the whole comforting thing? It hit him that he would need to do this for his daughter in the future. _Shit._ He was bad enough with a bawling Berry; what would he do when it was his little girl crying?

"Imply? Have you actually learned something from college?" Berry finally asked, her voice still rough from sobbing. He could hear a hint of humor though, and it made him fucking glad.

"Hell, yeah. What did you think I do here; screw around?"

He gave her the perfect opening to use that sarcastic wit he knew she had, and she didn't disappoint.

"More like screw sorority girls," she muttered.

He laughed. "That too, but I do go to class, do homework, and everything else."

"Wow. Noah Puckerman in class," Berry stated, her voice slightly clearer. "I know people who would pay to see that. They'd certainly never believe me without seeing it with their own eyes. I don't really even believe it."

"Well, you'll get to see it with your own eyes when spring classes start," Puck reassured her. "And I won't even charge you."

Berry chuckled slightly. "That's good since most of my money is going to your daughter."

While Puck basked in the glow of Berry's laughter (it may have barely qualified, but it was way better than the crying and _he had done that_), Berry's end of the line was completely silent.

"I need to get to sleep. With the day I've had, I'm completely exhausted." Berry's words were distorted when she yawned as she spoke.

"Okay. Good night, Berry."

"Good night, Noah," she said, before quietly adding, "And thank you."

The line went dead and Puck set his phone back on the nightstand. When he looked in Aiden's direction, it was to find his roommate, headphones off, staring at him expectantly.

"What?" Puck asked defensively.

"So, you still think Rachel's not family?" Aiden questioned, unperturbed by Puck's surly attitude.

Puck fought not to make a face when he realized that Aiden had overheard the conversation despite his headphones and music. _Nosy bastard._

"She was stressed, and that isn't good for the baby. _That's all_," Puck emphasized.

"Uh-huh," Aiden grumbled, putting the headphones back on.

Shooting a glare at the blonde man, Puck leaned over the side of the bed and dug his algebra book (_fucking algebra_) out of his backpack. As he settled in to finish the homework he'd been working on that morning (_fucking substitution_), he realized that he'd forgotten to tell Berry to ask for the day off a week from Saturday. It was the first day of winter break, so he'd be back in Lima, and he wanted to take her car shopping if she was free.

Scratching out a mistake on one of the last problems he'd completed before leaving for Lima earlier, he sighed. _Oh well_. He was learning that sometimes Berry's needs were more important than his plans. He'd just ask tomorrow.

ooooo

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

"I want to try on this!" Hannah announced enthusiastically.

Rachel, Dani, and Brittany all turned to survey the garment that Hannah was holding up. Dani immediately pursed her lips in consternation.

Shopping with the girls was the most fun Rachel'd had in a very long time. They had all met at Target as planned that afternoon. Rachel had been a little concerned that Brittany's lingering anger at Noah would carry over to his family, but she had nothing to be worried about. Brittany got along fairly well with Dani, and she already completely adored Hannah. They had bonded instantaneously when Hannah complained that her 'stupid brother' had stolen her Kings of Leon CD.

They had entered Target, but Dani had taken one look at the limited maternity selection, declared it insufficient, and piled everyone into her car to go to the mall. That's how they wound up in one of the larger department stores. Rachel had been completely uncooperative about trying on maternity clothing (she didn't want Dani spending money on her), so Dani and Brittany had agreed to shop for the rest of the group for a while.

"Absolutely not," Dani said emphatically.

Rachel studied the outfit that Hannah had picked out. She couldn't understand Dani's objections. It was a dress, but it looked more like a long shirt tucked into a ruffled skirt. She thought the outfit was very cute and completely age appropriate. In fact, she probably would have worn something like it when she was ten.

Hannah's lower lip poked out. "Why not?"

"The skirt is entirely too short."

When it looked like her mother wouldn't budge, Hannah turned her pleading green eyes on Rachel.

"Rachel, can you tell her that it's okay?"

Extremely uncomfortable at the thought of interfering, but unable to resist the beseeching note in the girl's voice, Rachel hedged, "Well, maybe she could try it on just so you could see exactly what the length of the skirt is on her. It's kind of hard to tell when it's just on the hanger."

Dani raised an eyebrow at her in a gesture reminiscent of Noah, but she caved. "Okay." Hannah squealed and Dani spoke over her. "You can try it on, but if I don't like the length, it's going straight back on the rack. Rachel, can you go with her to the dressing room? I'm going to see if I can find something more appropriate."

Rachel hurried to keep up with Hannah as she bounced her way to the nearby room. The one chair was taken by a clearly bored man, so Rachel stood to the side of the doorway, her hand resting on her baby bump. While she waited, she let her mind wander where it wanted. When it came to a stop on her phone call with Noah last night, she felt the familiar horror building.

Yesterday had been a day chalk full of embarrassing emotional outbursts, but knowing that she had cried on Noah's shoulder once literally and then again figuratively was the worst part. She didn't really like him (although he was making that harder and harder, and she had grown to trust him the tiniest, tiniest bit), so why had she turned to him for comfort when she didn't even want to talk to Brittany about Shelby?

Smoothing the material of Noah's Ohio State sweatshirt over her stomach, she mused over what he had said. At first, she thought that he was telling her exactly why she was unlovable - insane, total bitch, and 'want to set myself on fire' were not flattering descriptions. But then he had said that she was smart, talented, and going to be a good mom. Those were all things that she had always strived for (well, the mom thing for the last month and a half), so to hear him say that she had achieved them and that her parents were crazy to reject her had been just what she needed to hear. The conversation had been really awkward, though, so she had quickly moved it into safer territory. Still, what Noah had given her last night was the sort of solace that she had wanted from him from the start. In her eyes, it was also a sign that he would be a good father.

Whatever made her turn to him aside, there was no denying that she'd felt so much better this morning that Brittany hadn't pushed the issue, merely making sure she was okay.

"I love this!" Hannah exclaimed, coming out of the dressing room in the new outfit.

Rachel looked over the outfit. As she had expected, there was nothing wrong with it. The bodice was so long that the waistline was closer to Hannah's hips, so the skirt fell to just an inch above her knees, a perfectly respectable length in Rachel's mind.

"It is cute," she agreed, "but it's up to your mom to say whether or not you can buy it."

Dani chose that moment to join them.

"Well," she huffed, "I suppose it's not as short as I thought."

Hannah's face lit up as she sensed a yes in the offing. "So, I can get it?"

Dani tried and failed to hold back a grin at her daughter's enthusiasm. "I guess."

Hannah squealed again and threw her arms around Rachel's waist. The girl instantly jumped back.

"Oh, sorry, don't mean to squish the baby!" she apologized quickly. "I'm just so excited! Have I told you how glad I am that Noah knocked you up instead of Quinn this time? She never would have talked mom into letting me try this on."

"I'm fond of you too, Hannah," Rachel agreed.

Dani frowned. "While I don't care for the language she used, I do agree with my daughter's sentiments. It's so nice that the mother of my grandchild is Jewish this time. Do you know how many times I caught Quinn trying to sneak bacon into my house?"

"Well, she's not Jewish. She can eat bacon," Rachel pointed out.

"Yes, but my grandchild was Jewish."

Rachel didn't really want to get into an argument with Dani, but she feared that the woman really only liked her because of her religion. Plus, Quinn had been kind to her since she discovered the pregnancy (even calling for a chat earlier that day), and Rachel felt like she should stand up for her.

"Actually, as I'm sure you know, Judaism passes through the mother, not the father. So, Quinn probably considered the baby Christian too. If she had kept the baby, would you have loved her any less just because Quinn was raising her Christian? Because, while I plan to raise my daughter Jewish, I would love her just the same if she grew up and decided that she wanted to convert to a different religion or to no religion at all."

Rachel was truly curious about Dani's opinion. Would her love be conditional based on religion? Would Rachel's daughter lose her grandmother if she chose to follow a different path in the future? If so, she would do anything to spare her daughter the kind of pain she had experienced, including cutting Dani out of their lives, if necessary. (_Although that would be a real shame because she truly liked the older woman._)

Dani stared at her for what felt like forever (to Rachel at least) before she finally sighed.

"No, I wouldn't have loved her any less, and I won't love this baby any less if she changes her religion in the future, either. She's my granddaughter and I'll love her no matter what," Dani explained sincerely.

Somewhat mollified by Dani's words, Rachel was happy when Brittany joined them.

"Come on, Rachel," she said, sliding her arm through Rachel's. "Even if you won't let us buy you anything else, you have to get a winter coat that fits."

Rachel tried to argue, but, once Hannah had changed back into her own clothing, the other three were able to talk her into at least trying some coats on.

"I just don't think I need one," Rachel reiterated as she slid on a pea coat made of dark green wool. "This sweatshirt is really quite warm. I think it could get me through the rest of the winter."

"I will not have the mother of my granddaughter running around town without a coat," Dani chastised sternly.

"Yeah," Hannah piped up. "Even my idiot brother probably won't let you go without a coat all winter."

"Hannah!" Dani scolded while Brittany simply laughed and nodded her agreement with Hannah's words.

Rachel opened her mouth to respond when a muffled Taylor Swift's "Love Story" rang out. Since that was Kevin's ringtone, Rachel was quick to dig her phone out of her purse and answer.

"Hi, Kevin," she greeted.

"Hi, Rachel. I just wanted to tell you to wear red to the game tonight. We'll be cheering for McKinley, of course."

"Okay," Rachel agreed perkily. She was glad she had Noah's McKinley sweatshirt.

"So what are you doing right now? Who are you with?" Kevin asked.

Rachel smiled. "I'm shopping with Britt, and Noah's mom and sister."

Brittany snatched the phone away. "We're trying to buy Rachel some maternity clothes and a new coat." She was quiet while Kevin talked. "Okay." She held the phone back out to Rachel with a smug smile in place. "He wants to talk to you."

Rachel scowled at her best friend but took the phone. "Yes?"

"You should let them buy you new clothing. You're about to burst out of all of your normal clothing. You look fat, sweetheart."

Rachel wanted to argue with the fat comment, but inside, she knew that he was right. She had to be realistic and if she didn't want to run around in ill-fitting clothing for the next six months, then she needed some maternity stuff other than her uniform. She didn't get a chance to answer though.

"I have to go. I'll see you tonight. Wear red," Kevin finished the conversation and hung up.

Rachel put her phone back into her purse. "Okay. I'm willing to let you buy me a couple of items, including a coat, but that's it. I am not a charity case."

Dani rolled her eyes at that comment but shrugged. "That's a start, at least."

ooooo

While the girls were bullying Rachel into new clothing, Puck was across town, knocking on the front door of an unfamiliar house.

All through his morning classes that day, Puck's phone call with Berry had bugged him. He couldn't seem to get past what she had said. The thought that she would think she was unlovable didn't sit right with him. He couldn't do anything about her dads until he knew the whole story about what happened there, though.

He could do something about Shelby Corcoran.

When he'd hit his lunch break, he had headed back to the dorm and looked her up on one of the yellow page websites. Address in hand, he'd left as soon as his two o'clock class had ended shortly after 3:30.

It was nearly six, so he hoped that Shelby was home.

He waited a few minutes before the door swung open, revealing an older woman who looked so much like Berry that he felt like he was looking through a time portal.

"Can I help you?" she asked uncertainly.

"Shelby Corcoran?"

She nodded, studying him curiously. "I'm sorry, but do I know you? You look familiar."

"I'm not surprised. I was a member of New Directions a couple of years ago. You caught my friend and I slashing the tires on the Vocal Adrenaline members' SUVs," he reminded her.

She scowled. "That's right. Why are you here?"

"My name's Noah Puckerman," he introduced himself and watched her eyes widen in recognition. "I'm the father of Rachel's baby. I want to talk to you about your meeting with her last night."

Puck's respect for the woman (which had been non-existent) grew when she exited the house and gestured to a bench on the front porch in spite of the cold. At least she was smart enough not to invite a stranger inside.

Once they had settled, Shelby wrapped her arms around herself for warmth and turned her upper body to face him.

"Please say what you came to say."

Surprised to be given control of the conversation, Puck dug his hands into his coat pockets and tried to decide where to start. Finally, he explained, "I called Berry…er, Rachel last night. I'd been in town for her doctor's appointment, but I'd forgotten to ask her something. The phone call was much more fucking awkward than I had expected it to be, though. When I left town, she was more like her old self than I'd seen in a long time. By the time I called her, she was crying."

When Shelby flinched guiltily, Puck felt a small measure of satisfaction and continued, "I know Berry told you about her dads. Did she tell you about what I did when she found out she was pregnant? Or when I finally found out I was going to be a dad?"

Shelby nodded, "She said that you avoided her when she was trying to tell you and couldn't even say the word baby when you found out."

As always when he thought about his behavior, guilt immediately flooded him. He had been such an ass; how in the hell could Berry treat him so well now, so soon after he had acted that way?

"Yeah. That makes me sound better than I was because she doesn't know the worst of what I did. I was a complete bastard. I had her kicked off campus by security the day she nearly got an abortion but decided to keep the baby instead. The day I visited the diner and saw she was pregnant, I left Lima. I made it all the way to Columbus before I realized that I was acting like my dad by running out on my kid, so I came back. That's the part Berry doesn't know about. But even then, I wasn't dealing with it well. In fact, I handled it so badly that I was yelling at her the night she nearly lost the baby because she didn't want to let me near her." Puck shook his head. "She was right not to want me around the baby. I wasn't any good for them then, and it took nearly losing my daughter to make me finally get my act together."

Shelby seemed completely absorbed in his story, and again he wondered exactly how much Berry had told her about his behavior.

"When I finally did approach Berry about being a part of my baby's life, she was angry. But she set that aside and offered me a chance. I don't know if she's forgiven me or if she ever will, but she never talks about how I acted anymore. It seems to be what I do now that counts."

"What does all of this have to do with me?" Shelby questioned him, nervously wringing her hands.

"I'm saying that I understand why you ran last night. Hell, I ran myself. But, you can still make it right with her. She's a good person and she sees the good in people in a way that nobody else I've ever known can. Maybe you can't be her mom – I get that – but you could be her friend, and maybe even a grandma to our daughter. I'll sure as hell never regret coming back, and I don't think you would either."

That was way fucking more words than he liked to use. In fact, this whole conversation was right up there on his list of stuff he never wanted to do. He was a badass; he didn't talk about his fucking feelings. The only way that he was even getting through this was by reminding himself that the hurt and sadness weren't his feelings – they were Berry's.

"What about her fathers? What if they decide to retake their positions in her life?" Shelby wondered aloud.

Puck tried not to frown, but he didn't want to play comforter to Shelby. Berry was one thing, but he didn't fucking know this woman. This is for Berry and our daughter, he muttered internally so that he wouldn't bolt before he made his point.

"They fucking abandoned her. Do you really think she'll ever see them the same again? But you…you have the chance to be there for her now when they've turned their backs on her. The longer you wait though, the less likely she'll let you in."

Puck stood up. "I've said what I came here to say, so I'm heading back to Columbus. What you do now is completely up to you."

Puck headed down the porch stairs, and Shelby got up to follow him, stopping to shiver at the top of the stairs. When Puck reached the sidewalk that bisected her front yard, he faced her.

"Two more things, Shelby. First, don't ever fucking tell Berry about this conversation. She's damn stubborn and independent. She doesn't know I'm here and she'd kick my ass if she did," he paused to snicker at the thought of the tiny pregnant midget doing just that. With her hormones like they were, he bet she'd get the job done too. When the image cleared from his mind, he continued, "Second, if you decide to be part of Berry's life, you better fucking mean it. If you get her to trust you and then abandon her again, I will do everything in my power to make your life hell."

He held Shelby's eyes, so like Berry's, long enough to let her know that he was deadly serious about his threat before turning back to the street. Shelby's next words froze him.

"When did you fall in love with my daughter?"

Facing her again, he shook his head. "I don't love her, but she sure as hell deserves better parents than she was given. Even I got better. My dad may have run out, but at least my mom's fucking awesome."

Leaving before Shelby could make any more disturbing accusations, Puck reassured himself that this trip was just because he didn't want to deal with Berry crying anymore.

Because he sure as hell couldn't actually care about Berry beyond the fact that she was carrying his daughter.

ooooo

Rachel was curling her hair when "Careful" started. Smiling slightly, she answered her phone.

"Hi, Noah."

"Hey, Berry."

Rachel sat down on the closed lid of the toilet so that she'd be comfortable while they talked. "Tiger Lily's fine."

She grinned broadly when he snorted at the sound of Britt's chosen name. Yeah, Brittany was definitely going to keep picking names. They annoyed Noah far too much to change that.

"Tiger Lily," he muttered in an aggravated tone (Rachel's grin grew), before saying louder, "That's good. What are you up to? Are you still shopping with my mom and brat sister?"

"I'm getting ready for my date with Kevin, actually. He's picking me up at seven to go to the McKinley High basketball game. And Hannah is not a brat."

"Sure she is. And you hate basketball, Berry," he stated surely.

She made a face at the phone. "But Kevin likes it, so he'll be happy."

"Shouldn't you be happy too?" Noah questioned.

"If Kevin is, then I am." Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Rachel changed the subject. "What are you up to tonight? Some big frat party to hit?"

"Nah. I'm not really in the mood to party. Haven't been since I got back from Lima. Having yet another unplanned pregnancy killed my desire to screw every hot girl I see. I don't exactly want to repopulate the state of Ohio single-handedly."

Rachel covered her mouth so that he wouldn't hear her ungraceful snort. She personally felt that was best for Noah, and definitely best for the poor, defenseless Columbus girls who would fall helplessly to his charm.

Noah was still talking. "I'm actually headed to the library tonight with Aiden. We've got a fucking soc project due Friday, and we're partners for it."

Rachel grabbed the edge of the toilet seat with one hand to keep from falling off. Surely she hadn't just heard what she thought she had.

"Berry? You still there?"

"Yeah," she stated in a choked voice. "Sorry, but I could've sworn you just said that you were going to the library tonight to do homework."

"Probably because I did." He must have heard the strangled sound she made at his confirmation because he added, "Breathe, Berry. If it makes you feel better, it was assigned two months ago and we still haven't started on it."

Rachel laughed. "That does make me feel better, because that's much more like what I'd expect. So, Aiden is one of your friends?"

"Roommate, actually, and yeah. But I'm going to kick his ass if he keeps whining about this bitch Callie that he liked."

"That's horrible, Noah."

Rachel listened in fascination while Noah explained about what had happened between Aiden and that Callie girl. She scowled; women who strung men along for their money were a disgrace, especially when the man in question obviously really cared about the woman the way that Aiden clearly had Callie. By the time Noah finished his story, Rachel was leaning against the counter next to the toilet, her feet propped on the edge of the tub. Rubbing circles over her baby bump, she tried to come up with some good advice to give Noah on dealing with Aiden. The other man was clearly hurting but Noah was just as clearly fed up with the way he dwelled on the woman. And, without even meeting Aiden and Callie, she could tell that Aiden deserved much better.

"Well," she finally said when he stopped talking, "maybe you should just tell him that you're going to kick his butt. Callie's obviously not the right woman for him and dwelling on her isn't going to change that." She paused to consider her next words. "Ooh, ask him how he'd feel if he was tied to her for life by either marriage or a baby. Always giving her everything he is and never getting even the slightest crumb of affection back from her in return. If he's anything like you, that thought should disturb him on numerous levels."

"You're fucking right about that. No way in hell would I want to be tied to someone like her," Noah agreed in a perturbed voice.

Rachel paused her hand's circular motions on the crest of her stomach. "Noah?"

"Yeah, Berry?"

"I'm not like Callie, am I?"

"Nah. You're in a completely different league."

Rachel wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. She usually thought of leagues as something regarding attractiveness. So she didn't know what to think of that answer. Nonetheless, she accepted it and resumed stroking her baby bump.

"Okay then."

Noah sighed. "So, Berry, you think you could ask for next Saturday off?"

"Why?"

"I'll be back in town, and I want to take you car shopping. You need something to replace the death trap that caught fire."

"Car shopping? I can't afford…" she started in a panicky voice.

"I know that, but I'm sure we can work something out. I won't have you walking to work in the ice and snow. It's too dangerous; you could fall and injure yourself or Jim."

Rachel wrinkled her nose. "Jim? Our baby is a girl."

"Okay, so we spell it G-E-M. That's a girl's name."

"I am not naming my daughter after Jim Beam."

"You knew where I got the name?"

Rachel didn't even try to hide her snort this time. "Yeah, you already tried to name her after Captain Morgan, a brand of rum. Hannah warned me that you choose names based on alcohol and video game characters. Oh, and when I told Quinn about Morgan today, she mentioned that you tried to name Beth Jack Daniels or Jackie Daniels."

She snickered when he muttered, "Traitor."

"And before you even suggest it, no, we are not naming the baby Gin, either."

"Yet you were okay when Brittany named her Rainbow?" he asked incredulously.

Rachel grimaced at the mention of one of the more unique names Brittany had chosen, but defended, "It was cute. Very feminine, which is more than I can say about any of your names. As were Pixie, Glitter, Daffodil, Sparkle, Butterfly, and Tiger Lily even if not all of them lasted a full week."

A loud knock sounded through the apartment and Rachel startled, hitting her head on the shelf over the toilet.

"Ouch!" she cried out, rubbing the sore spot.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Noah's voice immediately went serious.

"It's nothing. I just hit my head, that's all."

Brittany, who had been working on her homework in the living room, appeared in the open doorway.

"Rachel, Kevin's here." Her eyes ran down Rachel as she struggled up from her still mostly reclined position. "You still aren't ready?"

Once on her feet, Rachel looked at herself in the mirror and realized that her hair was only half-curled and she was still in the Ohio State sweatshirt. The only part of her that was done was her makeup.

"Oh my gosh. You have to stall him Brittany!" she urged, holding the phone away from her mouth so as not to deafen Noah. "Give me ten minutes, and I'll be ready."

Brittany cast a suspicious look at Rachel's cell but nodded. "Okay."

Once Brittany had left, Rachel put the phone back up to her ear.

"Darn it, Noah! Kevin's here to pick me up for our date, and you distracted me for so long that I'm not ready yet."

"Sorry."

The word was right, but Noah's tone was completely wrong. It definitely said that he wasn't sorry at all.

"Sure you are. I have to go, Noah. I'll talk to you later."

"Sure, Berry. I'll call tomorrow."

After they had disconnected, Rachel picked up the curling iron and continued where she had left off. So far, she was pleasantly surprised by Noah's dedication to their daughter. If he continued to put in this much effort, then she would be one blessed little girl in the dad department.

Out of curiosity, Rachel checked the time on her cell phone. She was shocked to find that she and Noah had talked for nearly half an hour.

It certainly hadn't felt that long.

ooooo

Out on the interstate, Puck dropped his phone onto the seat of his truck. He couldn't believe it. They'd had an entire conversation without arguing (the name thing didn't count because that hadn't been serious). But more importantly, he felt like he was on top of the fucking world because he'd been able to distract Berry so much that she'd failed to get ready for her date with the douche.

And that feeling was _just wrong_ on so many levels.


	13. Chapter 12

Spoilers: Possibly up to "Duets", although some things may have been altered based on what I wrote before season one ended.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Okay, so karma decided to come around and bite me on the ass, because this chapter was as difficult to write as the last one was easy to. Seriously, it was like pulling teeth to get this one out and I'm still not completely happy with it. This chapter is also very different from any chapter I've ever written before, and you'll see why about halfway through. Finally, for those of you hating Kevin, that is what I was going for, so good. I will once again begin this chapter with a list of relevant differences between my story and the series due to the fact that I started writing the story before the back nine of last season had finished airing. I'd love to know what you guys think of this chapter, especially because it was so difficult to write. Please read and review! Thanks! 

List of relevant differences between story and show:

1. Beth went to adoptive parents (plural), so Shelby doesn't have her.  
2. Rachel is not a vegetarian.  
3. Matt never transferred out of McKinley High.  
4. Brittany's last name is Nolan.  
5. Puck never got a vasectomy (obviously).  
I think that covers the differences, but if I think of any more, I will add them to the list in later chapters.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

"So, did you skip your date because you weren't ready?" Noah asked.

"No, we went to the basketball game," she explained.

"Did the I-Pod come out second quarter?"

Rachel frowned at her phone. How did he know that she had her I-Pod out by the second quarter of all of Finn's games?

He must have sensed her question, because he said, "Come on, Berry. I was on the team; couldn't help noticing when you started dancing in your seat and singing to yourself. It was just more proof that you're fucking insane."

She was surprised he knew that because Finn had certainly never noticed.

"I didn't take my I-Pod."

"Really?" Puck's tone made it clear that he didn't believe that, but he didn't say so. "Why does it feel like you're hiding something?"

Rachel hesitated; she didn't really want to go into this with Noah, but she couldn't talk to Brittany given that Kevin was her brother.

"We had a small fight!" she burst out.

"Oh?"

Rachel fought not to grit her teeth at his smug tone. She had already figured out that he didn't like Kevin, but did he have to take such pleasure in their fighting?

"Yeah."

_Wednesday, November 28, 2012_

Kevin had greeted an embarrassed and thoroughly late Rachel with a quick peck on the cheek. She had known that he would be understanding about her tardiness. Brittany saw them off with a huge smile on her face. When they exited the apartment, Rachel could hear her singing her 'You're gonna be my sister' song again.

Rachel's own happiness had died soon after.

"That's his shirt, isn't it?" Kevin had asked once they were in his car.

Rachel glanced down at the red sweatshirt with the white lettering spelling out 'McKinley High' on the front.

"His name is on the back," her date continued.

She had forgotten that the sweatshirt also said Puckerman over a large five on the back.

"Yeah, it is. When he found out that I didn't have anything that fit, he gave me a few of his shirts, and this was one. It's just right for a McKinley basketball game, don't you think?" she asked, grinning at the perfection of it.

"Oh, yeah, just perfect. The highly respected cop who shows up at the basketball game, his girlfriend pregnant by another man and wearing his shirt."

Rachel was stunned by the anger in Kevin's tone. She stared down at her folded hands contritely.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think…"

Kevin, staring straight ahead, cut her off. "Of course you didn't. That's your problem. You never think. If you did, you wouldn't have gotten knocked up by some guy you weren't even dating. I may be dealing with the results of your whoreish actions, but it doesn't mean you have to run around advertising what you did."

By this point, Rachel's hormones had kicked in and she was crying heavily from his harsh words.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again, but I'm not a whore," she got out around her sobs.

After a moment, Kevin sighed and took her hand. "Of course, you aren't. I didn't say that you are. I'm sorry, but seeing his name on you when I already live with the knowledge that you're carrying his child got to me. I'm jealous, sweetheart, and I lost my temper."

While Kevin kissed the back of her left hand, Rachel tried to calm down. Kevin's words had reawakened the guilt that she had been carrying around ever since she found out that she was pregnant. A guilt caused by the knowledge that her desire for Noah had destroyed both of their lives. But worst of all, she had branded her first child a bastard simply because she hadn't been able to control herself. Rachel may have liberal beliefs, but at heart, she was a traditional girl. She had always expected her first child to be the result of a loving marriage.

Rachel was usually able to repress her guilt, but Kevin had struck a nerve. Her stomach churned as, not for the first time, she wondered what trials she had sentenced her daughter to deal with. And all for the sake of one night of pleasure.

Rachel's right hand unconsciously dropped to her baby bump. I'm so sorry, she apologized silently to the little girl resting there.  
  
Thursday, November 29, 2012

"Berry, are you still there?"

Rachel snapped out of her memories. "Yeah, sorry. What were we talking about?"

"You were going to tell me about your fight with Brittany's brother."

"Right. I wore one of your shirts, and Kevin was uncomfortable with it. So, I've decided that I can't wear your shirts anymore," Rachel rushed out, praying that she wouldn't hurt Noah's feelings.

He was silent for a long time, so long, in fact, that Rachel got off the bed to pace around her room.

"Right then," he finally said. "I gave those to you as a sign that I was manning up and taking care of my mistake, but if you don't want to accept that…"

Rachel's blood chilled. "'Taking care of your mistake'? That 'mistake' is your daughter, Noah. I thought you had accepted her as that. I guess now I know how you really feel."

Rachel hung up before Noah could respond. Crawling onto her bed, she began to sob into her pillow. She had thought she had Noah's support now, but she was obviously wrong about that. She considered her situation. She had done without Noah's help before, so she could again.

_But why did it hurt so much more this time?_

ooooo

Friday, November 30, 2012

"Berry…"

"Tiger Lily's fine, Noah."

Duty done, Rachel hung up the phone.

ooooo

Saturday, December 1, 2012

"Listen, Berry, you can't just fucking ignore me. I know that you already left me a message today updating me on our daughter's health, but I'd rather talk to you than just get a voicemail. How in the hell am I supposed to know what's going on with you if you avoid me? If this is still about what I said on Thursday, you know that I don't see Kahlua as a mistake. I don't have class at all today, so call me when…"

"Voicemail full."

Puck scowled down at his phone when Berry's voicemail cut off with the automated message. Growling, he dialed her number again. She was damn well going to listen to what he had to say, no matter how many voicemails it took.

ooooo

Sunday, December 2, 2012

"Noah, I will keep you informed on our daughter's health. Tiger Lily is fine. I will let you know if anything changes. Goodbye."

When the message ended, Puck threw his phone at the wall next to the dresser. What in the hell was going on with her? He left three fucking voicemails for her, and she left four fucking sentences for him? Berry, the girl who couldn't say _anything_ in less than 100 words? And she hadn't even mentioned his alcohol-based baby name.

_'…if you're only sticking around out of guilt, you should just leave right now. My baby and I deserve more than that.'_

Unbidden, Berry's words, among the very first she had said to him when he passed on the free pass, came back to him. Was that what she thought of him? Because he had accidentally called their baby a mistake in a fit of temper, did she think that he didn't really want to be around?

Reclining on his bed, Puck did the pussy thing and tried to figure out his feelings. Did he see his daughter as a mistake?

Reaching over to his nightstand, he picked up the sonogram picture laying there. He stared at the silhouette of his little girl and immediately felt that swelling in his heart that he felt every time he saw her. _No._ Maybe she was an accident, but she definitely wasn't a mistake.

"So why in the hell did I call her a mistake?" he wondered aloud as Aiden entered the room.

"Dude, you were attacking Rachel," the other man contributed immediately.

"What?" Puck asked, frowning.

Aiden sighed and dug into his dresser. "Any time you're angry or hurt by someone, you attack. You pick out their weak point and go after it." He pulled a box out and tipped it upside down, then sighed when nothing came out. "Dude, do you have any condoms? I need one for the party tonight; I'm meeting Nikki from soc class there."

Puck opened the nightstand and pulled one out of the still full box he had taken to Lima. "What are you talking about?"

Aiden caught the small foil packet that Puck tossed to him and rolled his eyes. "Sex? You remember sex, right? It's how you got Rachel pregnant."

"Not that, asshole. The whole attacking Rachel thing."

Puck had told Aiden, a psych major, about the fight, hoping to figure out what in the hell was up with Berry. Aiden had just said that he didn't know Rachel, so he couldn't help.

"Oh, right. You were obviously hurt or jealous or something over her rejecting your shirts because of her boyfriend, so you attacked her." Aiden studied Puck, a serious expression on his face. "With everything she's gone through, you know that the baby is her weak spot. After all, from what you've told me, her decision to keep it is what's cost her everything. So, you automatically called the baby a mistake, hoping to make her feel as bad as you did at the time by belittling her decision. Only this time, it bit you on the ass because you love your daughter and you actually care about Rachel. And now, because of your actions, you've driven Rachel away."

Puck frowned as he considered Aiden's words. They sure as hell made sense.

"Who the fuck asked you?"

"No one, but someone has to set you straight." Aiden bent down, and when he stood back up, he was holding Puck's cracked phone. "You know that feeling that made you do this? That's guilt, and it's what's pissing you off, not Rachel. But you better get used to the feeling, because until you make things right with her, it's not going anywhere."

Point made, Aiden tossed Puck's phone onto his bed and left.

Puck sighed. He knew that Aiden was right; he needed to fix things with Berry. They had been getting along so well until he screwed up. But, how in the hell was he going to make it up to her?

Maybe it was time to get help.

ooooo

Monday, December 3, 2012

"See sweetheart, you can't count on other people. I'm the only one who will always be here for you."

Rachel twisted the hem of the Ohio State sweatshirt she was wearing, cradling her phone between her ear and shoulder. She had finally gotten around to telling Kevin about her fight with Noah. She wasn't sure why she had waited so long; she guessed that she just didn't want to hear his 'told you so'. Kevin had been just as clear in his disapproval of Noah as Noah had been in his dislike of Kevin. She still hadn't told Brittany because she didn't want to lower the other woman's opinion of him even further. She wasn't sure why; she just knew that Brittany was already hard enough on him.

"I've also still got Brittany," Rachel pointed out.

She heard Kevin exhale on the other end. "But for how long? Do you think she's really going to want you living with her when you have a baby crying at all hours?"

Rachel's stomach jumped. That was one of her biggest fears. Sure, Brittany was excited about the baby right now, but would she be as supportive when she was woken up at three in the morning by crying? Rachel liked to think that she would, but that apprehension was always there. She wasn't sure what she would do if Brittany asked her to leave, especially with a baby to support. Plus, after everyone else had left, there was a voice in the back of her mind that kept wondering when Brittany would get tired of her and leave too.

"But you'll always have me sweetheart, even when my sister abandons you."

When Rachel hung up shortly afterward, her stomach was tightly knotted. Was Kevin right? Would Brittany leave too? He was her brother, so he'd probably know better than she would.

Rachel didn't know what she would do if that happened; without Noah and his family (who she was sure would disown her, if not the baby, when they heard about the fight), Brittany was the only support she had left.

ooooo

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Brittany had a problem. No, not a problem, she had a…what was the word Rachel would use? It reminded her of pickles. Mmm, pickles. She liked pickles, especially dill pickles on cheeseburgers. Oh, a dilemma! Brittany had a dilemma!

See, she didn't like Puck, hadn't ever since he ignored Rachel and made her show up at Brittany's door in the middle of the night crying, but ever since Rachel and Noah had fought on Thursday (although she didn't know what about and that really annoyed her), her best friend had been mopey, just like that dwarf that lived with all the other dwarfs and Snow White (and what was going on there? Was she the only one who thought one woman living with seven strange men was just really, really weird?). So, Brittany knew that she had to do something to make her roommate happy because Rachel was too stubborn to make the first move to fix whatever was making her sad. Wait. Was Mopey even a dwarf? She couldn't remember, but if he wasn't, then he should be.

Oh, right, not important. Back to Rachel. The thing that was causing her pickle was that Brittany knew that if fighting with Puck had made Rachel sad, then only making up with Puck would make her happy again. Brittany wanted Rachel to fall in love with and marry her brother, but she wasn't stupid. Really. She had seen the way Rachel held Puck's hand at the sonogram, and she knew that Rachel was late for her date on Wednesday because she was talking to Puck. She had also heard Puck call (she knew that ringtone) the night she had to get Rachel from the diner in her pajamas, and the next morning, Rachel seemed a lot better. Plus, whenever she wasn't at work, the tiny brunette wandered around the apartment in his shirts (even she could admit it was really sweet that he'd given her those, but she'd never tell him that). So, Rachel clearly needed Puck to be happy again. But, Brittany was pretty sure that Rachel didn't know that.

See, Rachel was very smart about words and stuff, but she was pretty dumb about feelings.

Twirling a strand of blonde hair around her wet index finger, Brittany tried to decide what to do while she worked on that morning's breakfast dishes. If she fixed Puck and Rachel, there was a risk that they would fall in love and then Brittany wouldn't get to be sisters with her best friend, and that was the main reason she had fixed Rachel up with Kevin. She wanted to be real family with her so that she wouldn't lose her or Tiger Lily if Rachel decided she wanted smarter friends. Plus, Rachel was, like, a hundred times better than the bimbos her brother usually brought home.

But if she left Rachel and Puck broken, then Rachel would just keep being sad. And Brittany missed happy Rachel. She was always so loud and she talked a lot. She never treated Brittany like an idiot, and that was something new. Brittany had been very lonely before Rachel came back into her life. Her family wasn't very close, so it had been just her. But now she had a best friend and a kind-of niece. Plus, Brittany liked taking care of Rachel. She was good at it, and the only things she had been good at before were dancing and sex (which she hadn't done since Matt at Mike's party that summer).

The sound of the front door opening and shutting sent Brittany to the kitchen doorway. When she saw Rachel, coming home from her shift at the diner, she smiled brightly.

"Hi, Rachel!" she greeted in her perkiest voice, hoping for a real smile today.

Rachel's smile was just a shadow of her normal one – the one she'd had ever since Puck had stepped up to help with the baby.

"Hi, Brittany," the brunette said as she passed on her way to her bedroom.

Scowling (and that was probably giving her wrinkles, which just made her scowl harder), Brittany absently scratched an itch on her chin, leaving soap suds behind. She wished she knew what had happened because then she'd know how to make it better.

When Rachel wandered back into the living room, all wrapped up in Puck's Ohio State sweatshirt again, and sat down to stare blankly at the TV screen for the fifth night in a row, Brittany sighed. She knew what she had to do. Her friend's happiness hung in the balance, and if that meant she might not get to have her as a sister, then so be it.

At least when Puck was back, she could keep bugging him with her baby names. It was time for a change, and she thought that Cloud might be a pretty choice.

ooooo

Puck was on his way back to his room from the library, trying to figure out how to get help about his Berry situation, when his phone rang. The sound of Katy Perry's old song 'I Kissed a Girl' immediately sent him into panic mode. Brittany had programmed that as her ringtone in his phone right after she finally figured out how to assign ringtones (which happened right around the time Quinn showed her how to turn on a computer). He knew that she'd never call him voluntarily, so he just knew that something was wrong with either Berry or the baby or, God forbid, both of them.

"I can be there in an hour and a half," he answered the phone, picking up pace to his room.

"The baby's fine, Puck," Brittany's voice came calmly from the other end. "But I'm worried about Rachel."

"What's wrong with her? Did she fall? Did she get mugged?" The numerous possibilities that floated through his head terrified him (and he was a fucking badass, so that wasn't right).

"She's depressed again. I haven't seen her this bad since right after the whole thing with her dads," Brittany explained. "I know you guys fought, but she won't tell me about it. What happened?"

Puck really didn't want to go into it with Brittany. If she heard that he'd called his daughter a mistake in a fit of anger, then she'd just know she'd been right about him all along. Plus, he still remembered her threat to chop off his 'manly bits' if he stressed out Berry. Brittany took away his choice when she spoke again.

"I won't help if you don't tell me what you did," she said softly.

Puck struggled for a moment with his desire to keep what little peace had developed between him and Brittany. He needed Berry to let him back in though, so he finally broke down.

"Berry got into a fight with your brother because she was wearing one of my shirts on their date. She told me that she couldn't wear my shirts anymore, so I got angry. I told her that I was manning up to take care of my mistake, but then she told me that now she knew how I felt about our daughter and hung up. I haven't been able to talk to her since."

Brittany was quiet, and Puck could practically feel the condemnation rolling in waves from the phone. The guilt (Aiden had been right about that) was so fucking overwhelming that he hurried to fill the silence, hoping Brittany would understand.

"I didn't mean to say it; I was just so angry that she would turn down my help because of what Kevin said. No offense, but he doesn't have _anything_ to do with the baby. I'm her dad, so that douche shouldn't have any say. But I do love my daughter; she's not a mistake."

Brittany was much quicker to answer this time.

"First off, Kevin is my brother, so don't call him a douche. Second, I actually understand why you're angry." He heard Brittany take a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to tell you something, so don't laugh." After Puck made an agreeing noise, Brittany continued. "When Rachel first let you back in, I was mad."

"I know you were, and I deserved it," Puck admitted, in a rare show of humility (he had a feeling that complete honesty was the only way he would get any form of help from Brittany).

"No, I was mad at both of you. You for what you had done, and Rachel for being willing to look past that and let you in. Plus, I felt like I had lost my place - the whole reason why Rachel had moved in with me. She didn't need me anymore if she had you."

Puck was stunned by Brittany's revelation. Surely she knew Rachel better than that. If there was one thing Puck knew about his baby mama, it was that she had enough room in her life for both him and Brittany. She would never turn her back on someone who had stood by her when everyone else abandoned her. Besides, any idiot could see that she loved Britt every bit as much as he loved Hannah.

He was fucking uncomfortable dealing with Brittany's feelings, but he felt like he had to say something to the woman who had protected Berry and their daughter from harm and homelessness.

"Look, Britt," he stuttered out awkwardly, "what you did for Berry – being there when I was acting like a jackass – well," he hesitated. This was so fucking strange. "um…I'm glad you were there," he finally rushed out. "I probably wouldn't get to be a dad if you weren't, and I want you to stay friends with her."

Brittany snorted. "Don't hurt yourself, Puck." Her voice softened. "Rachel already pointed out that I'll always have a place in her life, partially so she can complain about you."

Puck laughed. That was such a Berry thing to say.

"Thank you though. It's nice to know that you won't try to push me away from her. I'm closer to her than my actual sister."

Puck had just about enough of feelings (_who knew so much fucking drama would turn him into a pussy?_), so he was grateful when Brittany got back to her original point.

"So, what I was saying was that I know how you feel about Kevin, and I know that you love Tiger Lily. I was at the sonogram; I saw the way you looked at her and no one can fake that. Plus, I've known you since grade school, Puck. I know you say things you don't mean when you're angry."

Was Puck the only fucking person in the world who didn't know that was one of his habits? No, apparently Berry didn't know that either. Brittany was still talking, so Puck tuned back in.

"I would probably be madder if Rachel wasn't so sad. She never talks anymore; she only eats when I force her. She's stopped planning for the baby. She goes to work, but when she comes home, she just sits in front of the TV until she goes to bed. I'm really worried about her."

Puck didn't like what he was hearing. Rachel had seemed to get some of her sparkle back the last couple of times he had seen or talked to her. He couldn't stand the thought that she had turned back into that hollow shell that he had seen the first few days he was back in Lima for Thanksgiving. That he was responsible again ramped up his guilt.

"I want to fix it, but I don't know what to do," Puck admitted. "She won't talk to me."

"I can't tell you what to do, because I honestly don't know" Brittany stated, "but, if you come up with a plan, I'll do what I can to get her to listen."

He hadn't, in a million years, expected Brittany to help. He thought that she would be thrilled there was a wedge between him and Rachel.

"Thanks, Britt," he said, relief evident in his voice.

"I'm mostly doing this for Rachel," Brittany pointed out. "Don't make me regret helping you with your third chance."

"I won't."

"And, Puck," the blonde got his attention with her soft, yet serious tone. "Rachel's worn your shirts every night since the fight."

Brittany hung up, leaving Puck to wonder what that meant. Maybe she missed him as much as he missed her. Because he was man enough to admit that he fucking missed her. She was insane, loud, and he wasn't lying when he said that she still sometimes made him want to set himself on fire. But she was also smart, honest in a way that most people weren't strong enough to appreciate, and more forgiving than he deserved.

Puck swore then and there that if she gave him another chance, he wouldn't screw it up this time.

ooooo

When Brittany hung up, she stared at her phone for a moment. She really hoped she had done the right thing.

She set her phone down on her nightstand and sneaked back into the living room, sitting down next to Rachel on the couch. Even though she knew Rachel would be mad that she had called Puck, she also wished Rachel cared enough to ask why she had been in her room for so long.

Rachel's life was supposed to be like a fairytale right now. That was how Brittany had set it up. Rachel was the princess and Kevin was her Prince Charming. Puck was supposed to be the dragon that Kevin saved her from, and Brittany was the fairy godmother who made sure everything went as planned (and got a new sister for her good deeds).

But she was a bad fairy godmother because she was going to hand the princess over to the dragon.

When Rachel curled up next to her with her head in Brittany's lap for the fifth night in a row, Brittany stroked her hair, giving what comfort she could since she wasn't supposed to know what was wrong. And, once again for the fifth night in a row, she pretended not to notice the tears soaking her pajama pants.

Brittany again prayed that she had done the right thing.

If the dragon could stop the princess's tears, then spending time with Puck would be worth it.

(Plus, she wasn't as angry at him anymore. His thank you and promise that she could always be Rachel's friend had gone a long way toward healing their friendship.)

ooooo

Wednesday, November 5, 2012

"I want to be part of their lives, so how do I fix it?"

Puck had finally called the smartest woman that he knew for help.

"How well do you truly know Rachel?" his mom surprised him by asking.

"I know that she's smart and talented."

"Everyone knows that; those qualities are obvious. What I mean is what do you truly know about her? Do you know what her childhood was like? What's her favorite play? Favorite non-craving food? Do you even know why she decided to keep the baby?"

Puck was stumped by all of those questions. He couldn't answer a single one, and he told his mom so.

She sighed. "If the two of you are going to raise a child together, maybe you should actually take the time to get to know each other. That's probably part of your problem; she doesn't know you well enough to know not to take you seriously when you're angry. Plus, she's bound to be suffering from her fathers' abandonment, and your own misguided behavior, so she's probably looking for any sign that you're getting ready to leave. I'm only working on assumptions of course, but if she is doing that, she probably thinks your atrocious wording is an indication that you want out, so she decided to get out before yet another person left her."

His head was spinning from that thought process, but he could also kind of understand. He had thought the same way right after his dad took off.

"Okay, so…" he considered his mom's suggestion, "I should ask her to dinner?"

"I think that would be a very nice start. Show her that she's as important as the baby - that you don't just see her as an oven you're forced to be around for your daughter. I think she's had far too little personal attention since she got pregnant. From what I've seen, most people around her seem to revolve around the baby; I'm guilty of that myself. She probably feels insignificant as an individual."

Berry could be a lot of things, but Puck knew that insignificant would never be one of them. Her personality, when she was her normal self, was way too loud for that.

When he disconnected with his mom, Puck felt hopeful for the first time since Berry had hung up on him on Thursday night.

His mom had given him a plan (and a fucking brilliant one, for as simple as it was). Brittany had agreed to back his efforts to get back on Berry's good side. Berry was still wearing his shirts even though she was mad at him and the other bastard didn't like it.

He was going to make Berry see that she was just as important to him as their daughter.

_When in the hell did that happen?_

A/N 2: I hope I did okay with Brittany's POV segments. That won't happen very often, but I've wanted to try a segment through her eyes for a while now. I thought this situation might be a good one to see from her POV as an observer. Plus, writing from Rachel's POV would just be a lot more of her fear of abandonment and depression, and I feel that I've covered that from her side plenty enough in past chapters. Also, don't hate me for their fight this chapter; just like the baby scare, I felt that it needed to be done if Puck was ever going to have his revelation about Rachel, not to mention finally giving Puck and Britt a good reason to really talk.


	14. Chapter 13

Spoilers: Possibly up to "Sexy", although some things may have been altered based on what I wrote before season one ended.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: I know that it's been forever since I updated this story, and I apologize for that. As some of you may already know, I used that time to complete my first original novel. I also updated my HP fic, published two oneshots for Final Fantasy VII, and published one short oneshot from Santana's POV based on my Puckleberry oneshot 'A Debt Owed'. I also recently had an idea for a short (probably only 20000 or so words) multi-chaptered Puckleberry fic that I hope to start on soon. It will be different from what I've published before, although it should still have my usual combination of angst and humor. First though, here's the next chapter of this story. It's kind of short, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Please read and review! Because I always read and love your reviews, even if I don't manage to reply to them.

Oh, and a special shoutout to Pen Light. Congrats, and I hope things go much more smoothly for you than they have for my Rachel.

List of relevant differences between story and show:  
1. Beth went to adoptive parents (plural), so Shelby doesn't have her.  
2. Rachel is not a vegetarian.  
3. Matt never transferred out of McKinley High.  
4. Brittany's last name is Nolan.  
5. Puck never got a vasectomy (obviously).  
6. Rachel and Finn were together all through her junior and senior year, so she and Quinn never fought over him after sophomore year.  
I think that covers the differences, but if I think of any more, I will add them to the list in later chapters.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Shifting awkwardly in his chair, Puck checked his watch again. Growling when it was still 8:05 just like the last five times he checked, he glued his eyes back on the doorway.

_Fuck_. He _hated_ feeling nervous.

ooooo

"I really don't feel like going out tonight, Brittany," Rachel protested even as she exited Britt's car.

When Rachel had gotten home from work that afternoon (she hadn't taken the day off like Noah had asked her to because of their fight), Brittany had been waiting for her. The blonde had declared that she was sick of Rachel acting like Eeyore. So, after a ten minute tangent in which she tried to figure out how Eeyore could talk when other donkeys couldn't, Brittany had declared that they were having a girls' night out.

Smoothing down the bottom of her burgundy pea coat, Rachel stared at the door to the restaurant Brittany had chosen. Since when did girls' night out include dressing in their nicest clothing and eating at Breadsticks? Maybe Brittany had deeper feelings for her than she thought.

"You know I love you, Brittany, but you're like a sister to me," she uttered awkwardly as they crossed the parking lot.

The other woman stopped. "Huh?"

Brittany looked very confused, so Rachel elaborated.

"Breadsticks is one of the most romantic restaurants in town, so..."

Brittany studied Rachel for a few moments, her head cocked to one side, and then burst into laughter.

"No, Rachel," she gasped out hysterically. "I just really like Breadsticks' spaghetti. It has lots of meatballs. Besides, you're not really my type."

Immense relief rushed through Rachel. Her whole life was confusing enough without her best friend harboring a secret crush on her. As she started to follow Brittany into the restaurant, a thought struck her.

"Hey! What do you mean I'm not your type?"

Brittany giggled. "You're really high maintenance. After Santana, I swore I'd never date someone so difficult again. I like easier people like Artie better."

Slightly offended, Rachel trailed the blonde into the building. Why did everyone think she was so high maintenance? Maybe she had been in the past, but now she'd be perfectly happy with someone who loved her for something more than just her talent. That was part of why she liked Kevin so much. Even if he was almost cruelly blunt sometimes, at least he cared about her despite her many, many flaws.

When they entered the greeting area of Breadsticks, Brittany grabbed Rachel's wrist and dragged her through the doorway into the seating area. She completely ignored the hostess calling for them to stop.

"We're supposed to wait for the hostess to seat us," Rachel pointed out when the blonde paused to survey the room.

She may as well have been talking to the wall for all the attention Brittany was paying to her. Confused by the normally absent-minded blonde's purposeful behavior, Rachel surveyed her face as they crossed the room to whatever destination she had chosen. She looked awfully serious for an impromptu girls' night out. Curious, Rachel followed Brittany's gaze to their destination. What she saw waiting there caused her to dig in her heels.

"No!" she screeched, jerking Brittany to an abrupt halt. "What did you do?"

Brittany's gaze was fixed on Noah, who was sitting in one of the booths against the far wall. He was alone, and he was watching them expectantly. This led Rachel to one horrifying conclusion.

"You invited him here?"

Rachel's shrill voice was drawing attention to them, but she was too outraged to care. Brittany had spent a month telling Rachel that she was better off without Noah. When he had come back into her life, the blonde had spent weeks trying to run him off. And now that Rachel had cut him out of her life, aside from the updates on the baby's health, Brittany was _inviting him back in?_ What alternate dimension had she woken up in this morning?

"I'm not talking to him," she declared, turning on her heel and storming back across the room.

Brittany caught up to her quickly and held her in place with a surprisingly strong grip on her arm.

"You are too," she argued quietly. "You guys fought and now you cry every night. That makes me sad, so you're going to talk to him so that we can both be happy again."

Brittany's pleading tone instantly made Rachel feel horrible. She should have known that Brittany was just keeping her worries quiet.

"I'll be here with you," the blonde added. "That should make things easier."

Brittany's face was shining with such a sincere desire to help that Rachel couldn't resist.

"Fine. I'll eat with him, and then you're taking me out to karaoke at the bowling alley because you owe me for tricking me into this."

Grinning brightly, Brittany clapped her hands together. "Okay!"

ooooo

Berry's reaction was pretty much what Puck had expected. He had known that she'd act like a brat when she saw him sitting here, but he honestly hadn't been able to come up with a better way to make her talk to him. It's not like she would have accepted if he'd invited her outright. Hell, she still wouldn't answer her phone when he called and left all baby updates on his voicemail.

Brittany had agreed to get Berry to Breadsticks for him. He never thought he'd see the day when she'd actually help him get to Berry after all of the time she spent keeping him away from her. He might even say that he was grateful for her help if he wasn't a man. Even though Berry was fighting with Brittany, he trusted that the blonde would talk her into staying for dinner. Berry seemed to listen to her even when she wouldn't listen to anyone else.

He took Berry's hissy fit as a chance to study what he could see of her. He was glad that she was wearing a real coat tonight. He slid his eyes up to her face. The cold had turned her cheeks pink. Or maybe that was her anger, because there was no mistaking that she was completely pissed. Her brown eyes sparkled with it.

If he hadn't been afraid that she'd choke him when she reached the table, he would have laughed when she gave in to Brittany. From the way she was glaring at him as they approached, he could already tell that she was willing him to disappear. He wanted to smirk at her, but right before he did, he remembered that he was trying to make things better, not worse.

"We're here," Brittany announced needlessly as the girls stopped next to the table.

"Sit down," he invited as nicely as he could.

Brittany gestured Berry into the booth across from him first and then began to tap her foot impatiently when Berry took her time taking off her coat. His eyes widened._ Damn, she looked fine in that dress_. The dark green material hugged her curves in just the right way, and it highlighted her baby bump. He let his eyes rest on the bulge and, as he always did, took a brief moment to gloat that that was his bump. Every time he saw it, he felt like such a fucking stud. He wasn't sure why he felt so much prouder of knocking Berry up than he had Quinn. Quinn had been the virginal president of the Celibacy Club when he popped her cherry, whereas Berry had already had sex with Finn. The ex-Cheerio had definitely been the bigger conquest, but he took more pride in Berry's bump than he ever had Quinn's. Maybe it was the fact that Berry was keeping the baby and he'd get a chance to be a dad this time. Or maybe it was just that Berry had actually wanted him involved from the start if he hadn't been such a fucking jackass.

The whole issue was fucking confusing, so instead Puck ran his eyes over the rest of Berry's body. Her boobs were definitely bigger, just like he'd thought when he'd seen her in her pajamas a couple of weeks ago. Even better, the skirt on her dress was short enough to give him a good view of her legs. Then she slid into the booth and those legs disappeared, so he focused on her face again. He fought back an unmanly wince at the murderous expression there.

"How's Tequila Rose?" he finally asked, breaking the tense silence.

Annoyance flashed across Berry's face, and she bit her lip. He nearly laughed because she obviously wanted to say something about the name, but that would require talking to him.

"Bluebottle's doing really well," Brittany responded cheerily.

Puck sent her an aggravated look. Aside from the fucking awful name, Brittany was just supposed to get Berry to the restaurant and seated, and then find an excuse to leave so that Puck could talk to her alone. He figured that Berry would open up better if she wasn't worried about what Brittany might think, and he knew that he'd have an easier time acting interested if he only had to deal with Berry.

The blonde must have gotten the hint, because she suddenly shot out of the booth.

"I left a pigeon in my closet!" she exclaimed.

She was out the doorway before Berry could protest, leaving the two of them to stare after her.

Brittany's panic had seemed so real that he just had to ask.

"You don't think she really has a pigeon in her closet, do you?"

Apparently too stunned to remember her anger at him, Berry sighed.

"Honestly, yes, I suspect she probably does."

Puck raised an eyebrow in disbelief, so Berry explained further.

"The second week I lived with Brittany, I opened the fridge and a robin flew out. I asked Brittany about it, and she said that it was making a lot of noise in the parking lot, so she put it in timeout."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. How in the hell did she even catch it?"

Berry rolled her eyes. "Butterfly net. She told me that she chases butterflies a lot during the summers, so she's gotten pretty good at catching flying creatures in her net."

"That's screwy as all hell," Puck muttered.

"Yeah. After the robin incident, I found her net and hid it between the couch and the wall," Berry sighed again. "She found it yesterday. So, yes, she probably really does have a pigeon in time out in her closet."

Puck burst into laughter. This new piece of information gave new light to the bird that they found in Britt's locker that one time. His reaction was contagious because soon Berry was laughing. As it washed over him, he wondered when he had grown to value that sound so fucking much.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out suddenly. "I was an ass."

Berry stopped laughing and nodded.

"Yes, you were."

Since she was finally talking to him, he decided to go for broke. Maybe then he wouldn't have to do the fucking feelings thing again for a really long time (forever would be nice).

"Tequila Rose isn't a mistake; she's our daughter."

Berry gave him a small smile. "Good. I'm glad that you understand that."

"So, can we move on?" Puck requested.

He felt like a fucking wimp basically asking her permission to put one of his mistakes behind them, but he knew that it had to be done. Since he knew he would screw up again in the future, she had to know that she could trust him to do the right thing when he did.

And she had to know that he wouldn't just walk away when things got tough or went wrong as she clearly expected.

She studied her menu silently for a while, so he checked his own even though he already knew what he wanted. He wished she'd just fucking accept his apology already. This quiet was making him edgy.

"Okay," she finally agreed. "But we're not naming Bluebottle Tequila Rose."

When Berry argued against his alcohol-based name, he knew that she had forgiven him, even if he also knew that she'd never forget how he'd acted.

ooooo

After they ordered, Rachel decided that she wasn't sure what to think about her night so far. As she sipped her Sprite and waited for her food, she considered the events. Brittany, the traitor, had abandoned her with the last person she wanted to spend time with, but Noah actually wasn't behaving like a complete jerk and had even apologized to her (and it seemed like he really meant it). Since her night wasn't going how she'd expected, she felt unsure of herself. Given the location and the fact that Brittany had made her dress in her newest maternity dress (bought for her by Dani), she wondered what exactly Noah and Brittany were expecting of her.

And wasn't Brittany supposed to be encouraging her relationship with Kevin? When had she jumped ship on that? Maybe Kevin was right and she was getting tired of having Rachel around, to the point where she didn't even want her as a sister anymore.

That would explain Brittany's motives, but what about Noah's? She nearly gave an inelegant snort at the obviousness. There was only one reason Noah Puckerman would take anyone to Breadsticks. She may as well put the kabosh on any nefarious plans he had.

"Although I understand that our situation would be ideal for it as I am already pregnant, I'm not having sex with you, Noah," she stated firmly, watching him over the rim of her glass.

He choked on his Coke and sputtered, "What?"

She set her glass on the table.

"I said I'm not having sex with you," she repeated. "I have a boyfriend, and I'm not a cheater."

He coughed on the soda that had gone down the wrong pipe before answering.

"I know that. I'm not interested in sex with you."

For reasons that Rachel couldn't even begin to fathom, that declaration hurt.

"Why not? Is it because I'm fat now?" she questioned against her better judgment. "Kevin said that if I got clothing that fit, I wouldn't look as fat. Did it not work?"

Noah leaned across the table toward her, his hazel eyes blazing with both anger and something else that made her blood heat.

"If you were single and up for it, I'd take you out to my truck right now and fuck you until you screamed so loud that the staff here called the cops," he asserted in a low, yet strong, voice. "You were so fucking good that my memories of our night together are just one long haze of awesomeness. You literally fucked the memories out of me."

A shiver raced down Rachel's spine. His fervent tone left no doubt in her mind that he was being completely honest. She felt like the booth had magically transformed into an oven, and was highly relieved when he placed some distance between them by sitting back in his seat.

"But, as you said, you're not the sort of girl who cheats, and, believe it or not, I have no interest in trying to make you go against your values even though Kevin is a bastard and a douchebag. I learned my lesson about that with Quinn and all the crap that I dealt with after I talked her into breaking hers."

As the waiter set their plates in front of them, Rachel was impressed. Noah had grown up at some point (even if his name-calling appeared to contradict that).

"If you're not after sex, then why did you want to have dinner out? You could have just come to the apartment. I'm sure that Brittany would have let you in," she said, then mumbled, "The traitor."

Noah snickered. "I was as shocked as you that she was willing to help me. Anyway, I thought it might be a good idea if we get to know each other better since we're going to raise a kid together and everything."

Rachel was surprised. _Noah wanted to know her better? Really?_ That definitely wasn't the answer that she had expected.

"What do you want to know?" she asked curiously.

ooooo

Over the course of their meal, Puck set aside his anger at hearing that Brittany's douche of a brother had called Berry fat. He could deal with him later. Instead, he had asked all of the questions that his mom had mentioned when she suggested getting to know Berry better except for one. He now knew that Berry's childhood had been heavily focused on developing her talents with very little time for anything else. The girl hadn't ever even made a snowman, for fuck's sake. He didn't know how she had handled being a kid whose dads wouldn't actually let her be a kid.

Berry's answer to the question about her favorite play had surprised him, mostly because it seemed to be something that she didn't share with most people. She had told him that if most people asked, she said that it was Spring Awakening.

"Secretly, though," she whispered, "It's actually Mamma Mia!. I love the way Donna and Sam finally get married at the end after years apart, and the fact that all of the potential fathers agree that they are equal fathers to Sophie no matter who her biological father is. Plus, since I don't know for sure which one of my dads is my biological one, I could always identify with their choice not to find out in the end. While tragedies certainly have their place in culture, there's nothing like a happy ending to brighten my day."

Having never seen Mamma Mia!, Puck hadn't known what she was talking about but he had nodded along as if he had. He didn't want to tell her that he didn't know because one of two things would have happened. She either would have gone into a two hour description of the play, or she would have been sad that he didn't know and clammed up. With her hormones, it was hard to tell which one would have been her first response, but he didn't want either. He sure as hell didn't want to spend hours listening to her talk about the play, but he also didn't want her to stop talking. He kind of liked when she was happy.

Asking about her favorite food had resulted in a more complicated answer than he ever would have expected. She'd rambled off a long list of fruits and vegetables before giving him a final answer.

"Honestly," she finally said with a sheepish smile, "my favorite is actually chocolate. I rarely eat it, but I could happily swim through a pool full of M&Ms."

What Puck hadn't expected (though he probably should have given that it was Berry) was that she'd turn his questions back on him. He'd had to explain his pretty average childhood to her. He told her that he'd never been to a play in his life, and that his favorite food had always been and would always be the cheeseburgers at Barb's.

That left the final, and by far most complicated, question.

"Why did you decide to keep the baby?" he finally asked.

Berry's expression was startled, and for a moment, he was sure that she wouldn't answer. So he was surprised when she didn't avoid the question.

"It's really hard to explain," she hedged. "It's just...you know how you said you love Bluebottle already?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I knew that I loved Bluebottle before I ever saw a sonogram of her. I just didn't realize it until I was sitting in the doctor's office waiting for my abortion. I remember thinking about what it would be like to be a mom in the waiting room. Then I went into the room for the procedure, and the doctor and his nurse were explaining the process to me. I started thinking about how my dads were forcing me to do something I didn't want to and about how you would feel if you ever found out I'd gotten rid of our baby without telling you, and I panicked. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I started crying and pleading with them not to make me go through with it. They were really nice about it. They didn't scold me for taking up their time or anything; instead, they congratulated me because I was going to be a mom. It was the first time anyone had done that because Brittany, who probably would have, had been too busy trying to support me in whatever decision I made to congratulate me yet."

Berry's voice faded and she seemed to be looking at something only she could see. Puck had no doubt that she was stuck in her memories from that day. God, he couldn't imagine what it had been like to face that alone. The guilt that was always present grew large enough to choke him. He should have fucking been there with her when she made that decision. With how he had acted, he was fucking amazed that she had considered his feelings when she ultimately kept the baby.

"Are you guys finished?" the waiter asked them, breaking into their individual thoughts. "We're shutting down now."

"Oh!" Berry exclaimed, snapping back to the present. "I'm so sorry! I completely lost track of the time."

Puck watched as Berry scrambled out of her side of their booth and shrugged into her coat.

"Brittany's probably worried," she said in an anxious tone. "How much is my share of the bill?"

Puck snorted. "I've got it, Berry. I had Brittany trick you into coming here, so I'll pay."

She paused with one glove on and the other half-on.

"Are you sure?" She appeared to think about it for a moment and then nodded. "You're right. It is the least you can do after tricking me."

He let out a surprised chuckle. He didn't expect her to actually agree with him. She was definitely acting more like the Berry he knew and tolerated.

Once he had settled the bill, he discovered that Berry had left the restaurant. He wondered where she thought she was going since Brittany would have taken their only car. He wasn't surprised to find her standing outside of the restaurant, huddled in her coat against the cold. He was surprised to see Brittany waiting in her car in front of the building.

"Thank you for dinner," Berry said, teeth chattering slightly.

"Sure," he accepted easily.

This had to be the weirdest situation he'd ever been in. It felt like the end of a date thanks to the location, but he had never been on a date where he learned as much about the other person as he had tonight. The closest he had ever come to what he had with Berry at this moment was his friendship with Lauren before she had moved to California. Only they had never actually managed to have sex. After the near-sex tape that would have been child porn incident, they had waited too long to take things to the next level and ended up really good friends instead. So, he wasn't sure how to handle this.

"Hey! It's snowing!" Berry exclaimed.

Her excited voice broke through the tension that had fallen between them. He looked up at the night sky to see large white flakes drifting down from the sky. When he dropped his gaze back down to Berry, she had her hands stretched out to catch the snow flakes. She turned her face to him.

"It's the first snow of the year. Isn't it wonderful?"

A snow flake landed on Berry's nose, dragging a laugh from her as she crossed her eyes to focus on it. In that instant, Puck wanted nothing more than to pull her surprisingly goofy form into his arms. It was fucking dangerous to think that way, even momentarily.

"What's so fucking great about it?" he asked gruffly. "It just makes driving and walking anywhere more dangerous."

She let out an annoyed huff.

"Snow is clean. It represents a fresh beginning. And isn't that what we need?"

"Come on, Rach. I want to get home before the snow gets too bad," Brittany called, her head sticking out of her driver's side window.

"Okay. 'Night, Noah."

Berry gave him a quick wave and climbed into the passenger side of Brittany's car. Once she was gone, Puck held out his hand and caught one of the large flakes.

_A fresh beginning, huh?_

Closing his hand on the snow flake, he smiled and crossed the lot to his truck.

ooooo

By the time she and Rachel got home, Brittany was sure she'd made the right choice by tricking Rachel into making up with Puck tonight (even if it had meant she'd spent half an hour waiting in the parking lot to pick her up). Her best friend sang along to the radio the whole way home and talked about the questions Puck had asked her during the commercials.

After Rachel went to bed with a smile on her face for the first time in a week and a half, Brittany sat down to write her letter to Santa. Christmas was only a couple of weeks away, and she hadn't sent her letter to the North Pole yet. She was afraid that it wouldn't get there on time now.

Doodling snowmen on the sides of the paper, she tried to decide what she wanted to ask for. After chewing on her eraser for a few minutes, she started writing.

_Dear Santa,_

How are you? I hope that your doing well. I hope Mrs. Claus is also happy.

Yuve given me lots of good things for Christmas before, like the year you made my boyfriend walk. Like that year, I only have 1 thing that I want.

Cood you give my best frend Rachel someone who loves her? She's had a realy hard time the last few months and she's a realy good person, so she shood have someone to love her. I'd like it if you cood make it my brother Kevin, but I think her baby's dad Puck mite make her happier, so its okay if its Puck too.

Thank you for giving me Rachel. I didn't know you gave presents in fall, but I'm glad you do becuz I love my new best frend and I'm not loanly anymore. That's why I want her to have my Christmas present. She's Jewish, so I don't think yude give her a present normaly. But since she can have mine, you can give her 1 this year.

Hug Rudolph for me.

Love,

Brittany Nolan

Oh, I moved this year, so you half to come to my new adress. Its 124 N Elizabeth St, Apt 5C, Lima, OH 45801.  
  
Once her letter was finished, Brittany reread it and smiled. Santa had given her Rachel when she asked for a friend after everyone left that fall and it wasn't even Christmas then. Hopefully he would give Rachel someone who really loves her since it was Christmas now.

Humming Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Brittany set her Christmas letter aside to decorate later. Quinn would be back in town tomorrow, and she had agreed to help Brittany make the letter pretty for Santa just like she had last year.

Yawning, Brittany stretched her arms over her head and walked to her bedroom. She paused to grab her butterfly net from the couch.

She might need it if another pigeon decided to wake her up really early.

A/N 2: Yes, I'm completely aware of the atrocious spelling in Brittany's letter. That is intentional. I actually started writing it with my usual correct spelling and then realized that, given Brittany's academic prowess, she likely wouldn't have very good spelling without using a dictionary as she wrote (which I imagine she would do for her college assignments in addition to having Rachel help proofread). I took a best guess when it came to misspelling the words. Anyway, thank you for reading, and please review!


	15. Chapter 14

Spoilers: Up to "Sexy", although some things may have been altered based on what I wrote before season one ended.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Okay, another short update for you. I hope you enjoy this chapter; I had fun writing most of it. Of course, please read and review this chapter. Although I will never hold chapter for ransom for reviews, there's no denying that I always feel more inspired when I'm getting feedback. It makes me eager to write more for you guys. Enjoy!

List of relevant differences between story and show:  
1. Beth went to adoptive parents (plural), so Shelby doesn't have her.  
2. Rachel is not a vegetarian.  
3. Matt never transferred out of McKinley High.  
4. Brittany's last name is Nolan.  
5. Puck never got a vasectomy (obviously).  
6. Rachel and Finn were together all through her junior and senior year, so she and Quinn never fought over him after sophomore year (and Rachel never cheated on him with Puck out of anger).  
I think that covers the differences, but if I think of any more, I will add them to the list in later chapters.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Rachel bobbed along to her I-Pod as she pushed the vacuum across the living room carpet. She didn't know how she'd managed to get Sunday off; she certainly hadn't asked for it. She was happy to have the time off though. She needed to catch up on the chores that she had ignored while she was fighting with Noah, and today, with its four inches of snow was perfect for that.

Singing along to Lesley Roy's Psycho Bitch, Rachel flipped the vacuum's power off and started tugging the end table next to the couch into the kitchen so that she could clean under it properly. When she continued vacuuming, her mind drifted to the previous night.

She couldn't believe that her dinner with Noah had gone so well. It was as if he had morphed into a gentleman at some point over the week and a half that had passed since their fight. And that was not a word she ever in a million years would have applied to him in the past. Who would have known that he could actually show genuine interest in a girl for something other than sex?

However, confusion was her major emotion about the previous night. Why had Noah focused on her instead of the baby? To raise their daughter together, they didn't need to know about each other's pasts or likes. Honestly, his behavior made very little sense to her. She had to admit that not fighting with him felt ten times better than fighting did, though.

Rachel flipped the vacuum back off and turned to unplug it. She let out a shriek when she saw that Noah was standing just inside the open apartment door. Heart beating quickly, she ripped her earbuds out.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, angry at him for scaring her.

"Why isn't your door locked?" he countered calmly.

Her fury died when she saw the disappointment in his expression.

"Brittany forgot to lock it when she went for bagels twenty minutes ago," she offered sheepishly.

She hoped that he'd just leave it alone after that, but at the same time, she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none.

"What if I had been a burglar or a fucking rapist or something? I could have walked right in and hurt you before you even knew I was here. Did you hear nothing that I said when Brittany attacked me in the parking lot?"

Ashamed, Rachel clasped her hands in front of her stomach and stared down at them. This would have been so much easier to take if he was yelling or calling her names. His quiet displeasure made her feel so much worse.

"I'm sorry. I should be more careful with the baby," she agreed in a whisper.

She felt so guilty that she couldn't even look at him. Would she ever do anything right again?

Noah's sneakers came into view and he grasped her chin and lifted her face to his.

"I don't want the baby or you to get hurt."

He looked and sounded so sincere that she could feel herself blushing. The heat flooding through her skin from his hand wasn't helping, either. Disturbed by the sensation, she pulled out of his grasp and backed away.

"Okay. I promise I'll be more careful," she assured him.

"Good," he responded as he ran his eyes down her body. "Are you ever going to buy some pajamas that fit?"

His question made Rachel realize that she was still dressed as she had been when she'd woken up. Once again, he had caught her with her baby bump hanging out and her hair pulled into a messy knot. She hadn't gotten dressed that morning because she had planned to wait until after she finished cleaning. That was only practical.

"If you bothered to call before stopping by even once, I might actually be properly dressed," she grumbled accusingly, cheeks heating. "Why are you even here today?"

"I was thinking about what you said last night," he started. "And it's just fucking wrong that you've never made a snowman or gotten into a snowball fight or any of the stuff that normal kids do when it snows."

As he had spoken, he had edged closer to her, his eyes glued to her baby bump. Rachel bit back a grin. He obviously wanted to touch it again, but was too manly to simply ask. Well, she wasn't going to make it easy on him.

"I didn't long for those things too much," she stated, shifting away from him. "My dads said that all I was missing was getting cold and wet."

"Well, my kid is going to play in the snow, so I have to teach you how," he declared, continuing to move toward her.

When Rachel took a couple more steps backward, she stifled a laugh as frustration crossed his face.

"Really? You're going to teach me to play in the snow?" she asked inquisitively. "How do you plan to do that?"

Sliding forward again, he answered, "I'm going to take you to the park now that you have a coat. Brittany said you had the day off when I called this morning."

Scooting backward toward the hallway, Rachel considered the offer. Despite what she had told him, she had always been curious about what it was like to play in the snow as a child. Every time it had snowed, she had wished that the school would let them go outside. Her dads couldn't have stopped her playing during recess. Unfortunately, the principal had always kept the students in when it was snowy during the winter.

"Where the fuck are you going?"

When Rachel registered Noah's words, she noticed her location. She had somehow managed to back out of the living room and into the hallway. Noah was standing in front of the couch, looking extremely annoyed.

Moving back into the other room, Rachel grinned impishly at him.

"If you want to touch my stomach, all you have to do is ask," she said, finally taking pity on him.

Rachel didn't actually expect him to ask, so she wasn't surprised when his only response was to narrow his eyes.

"She's your baby too, so I don't mind if you want to touch her," Rachel explained, stopping directly in front of him.

After a moment's hesitation, Noah curved a hand over their baby. Tilting her head back, Rachel saw that he had that same expression of awe on his face as the first time he'd felt her bump.

"That's okay, Quinn."

Brittany's voice interrupted the moment, and Rachel jumped away from Noah guiltily. Moving around him, she approached her roommate and took the paper bag from a local coffee shop that she was holding. Brittany raised an eyebrow at her, but continued to speak into her cell phone.

"You can actually come out with us tonight if you want. I'm taking Rachel to karaoke since I tricked her into having dinner with Puck last night." Brittany paused. "Yeah, they fought, but they've clearly made up because he's here right now."

Rachel grimaced as she entered the kitchen and stepped around the out-of-place end table. Quinn was sure to be full of questions the next time she saw her now. She started pulling the bagels out of the bag and placing them on paper plates.

"Quinn isn't going to help me with my Santa letter today. She has to go shopping with her mom," Brittany announced when Rachel carried their plates back into the living room. "She's coming out with us tonight, though, and she said she'd help me with my letter tomorrow after my shift ends."

Rachel handed Brittany's plate to her and then handed Puck the bagel that she had intended to place in the fridge for tomorrow before sitting down with her own breakfast.

"Okay. Are you sure you don't want me to help you with your letter? I wouldn't mind."

Brittany gave a vigorous shake of her head. "No, Quinn'll do it."

As Rachel settled into a discussion with Brittany about their plans for the day, she was surprised at how easily Noah fit into the dynamic.

She wasn't sure when or why he and Brittany had fully set aside their issues, but she was very grateful that they had.

ooooo

"Noah!" Rachel shouted in a scandalized voice. "That is _not_ where those are supposed to go!"

After a lot of arguing on Rachel's part, Noah and Brittany had finally talked her into abandoning her chores and going to the park. Since Quinn had canceled their plans, Brittany had opted to come along. This, of course, had led to a lot more arguing as she and Noah tried to decide who would drive. Noah was definitely the better driver, but Brittany's car was much safer on the snowy roads than his truck. The two decided to have their argument in the middle of the parking lot. Eventually, Rachel, sick of freezing and bored of listening to them, had snapped.

"Noah, just drive Brittany's car," she'd barked at them.

Neither one had looked happy with the compromise, but they clearly hadn't wanted to argue with the hormonal pregnant lady. Rachel happily made a mental note of that for future use.

The first thing they had done on arrival was build a snowman. Rachel had rolled the body and head while Brittany handled the base. Noah had supervised, which basically meant that he bossed the two of them around. He also insisted on assembling the pieces once rolled in spite of Rachel's insistence that she could handle the head herself.

Once the three parts were together, Noah had produced an old hat and scarf, a carrot, and two large rocks in lieu of coal from the bag that he'd grabbed from his truck before they left the lot. Rachel had been delighted that he was so well prepared. While Brittany had gone off to find a couple of sticks for arms, she and Noah had stayed behind to handle the rest.

She really shouldn't have trusted him with the carrot and rocks.

"Ooh, big," Brittany cooed with a giggle as she returned.

"I've seen bigger," Rachel returned absentmindedly as she pulled the carrot and rocks out of the base and stuck them in their proper positions on the head.

"Rachel!" Brittany shrieked before bursting into laughter.

When Rachel realized what she'd said, she was absolutely mortified. Puck's 'Fuck yeah, you have, babe!' didn't help matters any, either.

"Carrots!" she yelled over their combined laughter. "I meant that I've seen bigger carrots!"

(She didn't mean carrots.)

"Sure you did," Brittany agreed, only to ruin the effect by whispering to Noah, "No, she didn't."

Irritated, Rachel bent down and scooped up some of the snow. After quickly packing it, she lobbed it at Brittany but instead hit Noah in the face. Horrified, Rachel covered her mouth with her gloved hands as he wiped the snow away.

"Oh, you've fucking done it now, Berry," he growled threateningly.

Thus began Rachel's first ever snowball fight. She and Brittany naturally paired off against Noah. They were doing pretty well too until Brittany got distracted by a loud pigeon that had landed nearby. Scooping up her pile of snowballs, she had run off after the bird, leaving Rachel to face Noah by herself. Each of them had a snowball, so it was only a matter of who would be quickest.

"You ready to give up?" he asked with a smirk.

"Never," she declared sincerely.

Without giving her any warning, Noah threw the snowball he was holding and hit her right in the stomach. Rachel quickly decided to use it to her advantage. Summoning up her best dramatic abilities, she bent over and cradled her stomach.

"Shit!" Noah yelled, running to her. "I'm sorry, Berry."

The instant he grabbed her shoulders, Rachel looked up with a wicked grin on her lips. Moving quickly, she smeared the snowball clutched in her hand in his face.

"I win!" she announced.

There was a moment of silence while he once again cleared snow out of his eyes. Once done, he gave her a look so severe that Rachel feared she had crossed a line. But then he rubbed the snow he'd wiped off into her hair (_where had her hat - her protection - gone?_). When she yelped from the cold, he started to laugh.

"No, I win," he stated between chuckles.

Brushing the snow out of her hair, Rachel glared at him.

"That was a dirty trick."

"And yours was so fucking fair," he retorted sarcastically.

They shared a mutual moment of respect for each others' underhanded tactics, before Rachel declared, "I want to make a snow angel."

Without waiting for Noah's response, she ran off for a section of snow that was clear of footprints. When she found a good one, she lowered herself so that she was lying on the ground. She stretched her arms out, swept them up and down, and moved her legs just as she'd seen in movies. After about thirty seconds, she stopped and sat up. She stared up at Noah, who had followed her, in confusion.

"How do I get up without ruining it with my footprints?"

She hated the thought of marring her very first snow angel with human error.

"You just need a little help," he said. "Hold your arms out."

Still confused, she did as he said. Noah reached down and grabbed her upper arms. Once he had a secure grip, he carefully pulled her up so that her feet were off the ground just long enough for him to drop her outside of her angel.

"What have you been feeding Merlot?" he asked with a barely suppressed snicker after she was back on her feet.

Rachel smacked his chest.

"I'll have you know that my weight gain is perfectly in line with what Dr. Greenman said it should be. Most women gain five to ten pounds by their seventeenth week, and as of my sonogram, which was sixteen weeks, I had gained seven. That is..."

"Shut the hell up and look at your angel, Berry," Noah interrupted, curling an arm around her shoulders to turn her around.

She let out a long breath in awe at the sight of her unblemished snow angel.

"It really looks like an angel," she whispered reverently. "Thank you, Noah."

"Am I interrupting something?"

At the sound of her boyfriend's voice, Rachel jerked away from Noah.

Kevin did not sound happy.

ooooo

The male voice that had interrupted Puck's day with Berry struck the wrong nerve with him. He didn't know why - there was nothing about it that was very bad; it just sounded kind of douchy. He didn't care for the panicked way Berry had moved away from him at the sound either.

"Kevin," Berry's voice held a strange tone that he'd never heard from her before. "What are you doing here?"

When she moved to join the douchy voice (who was apparently her boyfriend), Puck turned around to watch her. Sure enough, he recognized the guy from Britt's picture in their apartment. In the middle of a Lima, Ohio winter, there weren't too many men running around with pretty boy tans and blonde hair, so this fucking guy stood out like, well, Berry pretty much anywhere she went.

Puck was standing too far away to hear their words, but he could make out their tones. Kevin was obviously angry, and he was doing most of the talking. With every word he said, Berry physically withdrew into herself a little bit more. She tried to speak, but the jackass just spoke right over her quiet words. By the time he stopped talking, the normally strong Berry had curled up in what was basically a standing fetal position, and she was looking at the ground, just nodding along with the other man's words.

That just wasn't fucking right.

The asshole had shown up less than five minutes ago, and Berry had already completely changed. Instead of the happy, energetic woman who'd had the nerve to hit him with a snowball, she seemed more like the broken one he'd first met when he'd walked into Barb's a month ago. How in the hell could one man change her so quickly?

"Noah," Berry disturbed his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

She gave him a plastic smile. "This is my boyfriend, Kevin. He's Brittany's brother. Kevin, this is Noah Puckerman. He's...um...he's my daughter's daddy," she finally settled on.

Puck kind of liked hearing her call him that.

"It's nice to meet you," the other man said, holding out a hand.

While they shook hands, the two of them sized each other up. Cop or not, Puck decided he could take him. He smirked when he realized that the douche was trying to crush his hand. Pretty boy was fucking intimidated by him. _Excellent_.

"Yeah," Puck acknowledged his words.

"The pigeon is gone. It took all of my snowballs, but I hit it three times and...Kevin! What are you doing here?" Brittany asked as she slid to a halt in the snow and nearly fell face forward. Grabbing onto Puck's arm to steady herself, she looked up at her brother expectantly.

"Brittany," the jackass started in a superior tone that made Puck grit his teeth, "you told me that the three of you were down here. It sounded like fun, so I thought I'd join you since I'm off."

"Oh, but I wasn't inviting you. I was just letting you know why Rachel wasn't answering her phone since you asked."

Brittany sounded fucking confused, and, glancing down at her, Puck could see that she looked it too.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that Rachel here was okay."

Puck bristled when the fucking bastard had the nerve to scowl at him when he said that.

"I was fine," Berry piped up. "We were having fun. Puck helped us make a snowman, a snow angel, and we had a snowball fight."

"That was extremely irresponsible of you, Rachel. To risk your baby's health just to participate in such childish activities. What would have happened if you fell and lost the baby simply because you wanted to behave immaturely," the asshole scolded her as if she was a misbehaving puppy.

Puck waited for Berry to tell him that it was her decision whether or not she played in the snow, and that, besides, the baby was perfectly safe.

Instead, she lowered her head and murmured, "I'm sorry."

_That was fucking it!_ Puck was not just going to let this douche get away with making Berry feel bad about enjoying herself. Even if the guy was jealous that she'd been hanging out with him, she hadn't done a single fucking thing wrong. Hell, Brittany had even been with them. And, anyway, it wasn't like anyone cared about the baby's health as much as Berry, with the exception of Brittany and him.

"Listen, dude, both Berry and _our_ daughter were perfectly safe. Berry would never risk Bluebottle, and I would never hurt either of them," he defended his baby mama.

Berry had lifted her head to watch him with a stunned expression, and next to him, Brittany's entire body had tensed up. He glanced down at her and saw that she looked completely lost. He wondered if she had spent any time with Berry and the douche together. She sure as hell didn't look like their behavior was what she expected.

The other man ignored both girls to smile at Puck and speak in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"You already have hurt them - multiple times."

There was that fucking guilt again. Puck began to feel like it would never go away. Not that he didn't fucking deserve it. He had been a bigger asshole to Berry about their daughter than the man standing in front of him was acting like right now. He fucking hated feeling like this.

"I've forgiven him for that," Berry stated in her usual firm tone. "Besides, that's between us."

Puck noticed that she was glaring at Brittany when she said that. He felt fucking happy when he realized that she hadn't badmouthed him to her boyfriend even when she was completely (and rightfully) pissed at him.

"Of course it is, sweetheart," the other man said patronizingly. "I just love you too much to let you repeat your past mistakes. You know how your self-control is."

Puck could feel his whole body stiffen. The muscles in his arms were burning to beat the shit out of the jackass. Only the thought of getting stuck in prison for assault against a cop kept him from knocking the mother fucker to the snow and pounding his pretty boy face in until the snow ran red. He wouldn't be any good to Berry if he was behind bars, and then the smug bastard in front of him would win.

"I know that I behaved badly in the past, but I'm not going to cheat on you. I'm not that type of girl," Berry said earnestly.

Puck took several deep breaths so that he didn't jump on the jerk. He couldn't believe that Berry actually felt like she had to justify herself to this douchebag. Confident, I-love-who-I-am Berry.

"Come on, Rachel. We're going to lunch," Kevin commanded her, moving toward the parking lot.

Berry gave him a small, sad smile.

"I had fun today, Noah. I'll see you tonight at karaoke."

It wasn't a question, but her tone implied that she wasn't sure if he'd be there.

"You fucking know it," he reassured her with a smirk.

"Rachel!"

When the asshole's voice reached them, Berry startled and hurried after him. The sight made Puck sick.

"I don't understand," Brittany whispered in confusion and sadness.

Puck shoved down the tidal wave of shame that threatened to choke him. He fucking understood.

When he had ignored and mistreated Berry, he had broken her so badly that she believed what that jackass said about her.

ooooo

Brittany was confused. What was wrong with Kevin? The way he said things was nice, but the words that he said were really mean. It was almost like he didn't like Rachel, but he had said that he loved her. She just didn't understand. She wanted someone to explain it to her. Puck was the only one nearby, and he would probably help her.

"I don't understand," she whispered to him.

Puck was silent for a minute, and he looked so sad that Brittany wondered if he would cry. She really hoped he wouldn't; strong people like Puck weren't supposed to cry. But, then again, Rachel was strong and she'd cried lots of times. If Puck cried, she'd just hug him and tell him it'd be okay just like she would with Rachel. He was her friend too, right? So that'd be okay.

"That bastard," Puck muttered instead.

Oh, good, he wasn't going to cry. He was just really angry. But angry Puck was kind of scary. Suddenly she wished that sad Puck was back.

"I can't believe she's willing to put up with his crap." He looked down at Brittany. "What in the hell were you thinking when you set them up?"

Brittany flinched. Why was he mad at her? _She didn't understand!_

"He's my brother and she's my best friend. I thought they'd be happy together; I want them to be happy. But I don't understand!" she complained loudly. "Why was he being like that? Was he being nice or really mean? He said he loved her, but then he said she was trying to hurt the baby because she was playing in the snow. I'm confused, Puck."

Brittany looked up at her old friend pleadingly. She really hoped he would explain so that she could understand. His expression softened.

"Brittany, your brother is an abusive asshole, and I hurt Berry so badly that she doesn't even see it."

Brittany shook her head. "But Rachel doesn't have any bruises."

Puck sighed. "Not all abuse leaves bruises. Sometimes, people abuse other people by being mean to them so that they feel bad about themselves. That's what your brother is doing to Berry."

Brittany shook her head vigorously again. It wasn't true. Her brother wouldn't do something like that. He was Prince Charming to Rachel's princess. Puck was just showing his true dragon colors right now, which was bad because she had thought he wasn't a dragon anymore.

"You're wrong. My brother wouldn't do that to Rachel. He loves her. He was just mad because of you, so he said stuff that he didn't mean. It was like you when you got mad. He was just being like you; he didn't mean it."

After that, Brittany stuck her fingers in her ears and hummed when Puck tried to say something else. She didn't want to hear it. Her brother wouldn't be mean to Rachel on purpose. He just wouldn't; he loved her. Brittany had to believe that.

Because if he was abusing her, then Brittany was the worst friend and fairy godmother ever.


	16. Chapter 15

Spoilers: Up to "Original Song", although some things may have been altered based on what I wrote before season one ended.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Also, some of this is from Puck's viewpoint, and he's kind of an offensive guy, so I'd like to point out that his viewpoints don't always reflect mine.

A/N: Wow, I never realized how bloodthirsty you guys are. All I can say is that if someone else was writing this, Kevin would have to watch his back. I hope you understand that it will take a little more than someone telling Rachel that he's a bad guy for her to see it and break free. I know that means more frustration for you guys as the readers, but hopefully you can stick through it. Also, this is now officially my longest fanfic (my original novel is longer). Although I will never hold chapter for ransom for reviews, there's no denying that I always feel more inspired when I'm getting feedback. It makes me eager to write more for you guys. Enjoy!

List of relevant differences between story and show:  
1. Beth went to adoptive parents (plural), so Shelby doesn't have her.  
2. Rachel is not a vegetarian.  
3. Matt never transferred out of McKinley High.  
4. Brittany's last name is Nolan.  
5. Puck never got a vasectomy (obviously).  
6. Rachel and Finn were together all through her junior and senior year, so she and Quinn never fought over him after sophomore year (and Rachel never cheated on him with Puck out of anger).  
I think that covers the differences, but if I think of any more, I will add them to the list in later chapters.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

"I still don't understand why you insist on embarrassing me this way," Kevin stated as he deftly steered his car through the snowy streets. "I thought we had already discussed what you spending time with that delinquent does to my reputation."

Hanging her head in shame, Rachel murmured an apology. Her boyfriend had spent all of lunch and the current trip back to her apartment admonishing her for her unseemly behavior with Noah. She still wasn't sure what she had done that was so wrong; it's not like she had kissed him or anything. However, Kevin seemed to feel that her deepening relationship with Noah was a bad thing. He kept warning her that Noah was just interested in her for sex and that men like him never actually stick around to deal with the consequences of their actions. She'd tried to explain that she trusted Noah to be a father to their baby, but Kevin had spoken right over her. He had once again reiterated that both Brittany and Noah would leave once they realized how much work babies were.

"If you cared about me," he continued, pulling to a stop at the door to her building, "you would take my feelings into account before you behave like that. Besides, I thought your loyalty was with me. I am your boyfriend, after all."

"I know," Rachel agreed. "But we need to spend time together if we're going to be successful in raising our daughter."

Kevin shook his head. "I still guarantee that he won't be around long enough for that to be a concern." He flashed her one of his dazzling smiles, the kind that made her wonder how she'd ever attracted someone like him. "There's a new Tarantino film out; I'll pick you up shortly before seven."

Rachel paused with her door open and steeled her nerves to turn him down.

"I can't. I already made plans with Brittany, Quinn, and Noah for karaoke."

"Oh. I'll just join you then," Kevin stated decisively.

For some reason, Rachel didn't like that idea. Karaoke was supposed to be fun, but with both Kevin and Noah in attendance, she had a feeling that it would just be extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," she said hesitantly.

"You'd rather spend your night with that deadbeat than with your own boyfriend?"

Although she protested that description for Noah, she didn't say anything because Kevin's tone sounded so upset.

"Of course I want to spend my time with you," she reassured him, "but I'm not sure that you coming too is..."

"It's settled then. I'll come to karaoke and keep an eye on the guy. See you tonight."

After Rachel climbed out of the car, she watched Kevin pull away. She also heard the words that he hadn't said.

_I'll keep an eye on you._

ooooo

"Why does Kevin say mean things to you?" Brittany asked as they watched a movie later that afternoon.

Startled, Rachel took her attention off the TV to look at her roommate. What was Brittany talking about?

"What do you mean?"

"He said that you were going to hurt Bluebottle and cheat on him. Why would he say those things if he loves you?" the blonde questioned, her blue eyes wide with confusion.

Rachel sighed. "He knows my flaws better than anyone else. He sees that I'm careless; I wouldn't be pregnant if I wasn't. And he can probably tell that no matter how I wish it were otherwise, Noah still holds an undeniable appeal for me. Again, I wouldn't be pregnant if I'd had any sort of self-control where he was concerned. He's just watching out for me by being honest about my faults."

Brittany's nose wrinkled. "I still don't understand. Doesn't that make you feel bad? It would hurt my feelings."

"It doesn't feel good, but I can't be angry with him for being honest, especially since I've never been afraid to be honest about others."

As Rachel turned back to the screen, she reassured herself that she was only speaking the truth.

No matter how awful it made her feel, she needed someone who would ensure that she wouldn't repeat her mistakes. Since Kevin loved her anyway, then wasn't he the best choice?

ooooo

Shortly after seven that night, Kevin pulled Rachel through the doorway to the bowling alley's bar. The grip that he had on her hand was almost painful, and she really wished that he hadn't come with her. Tonight was supposed to be fun - Brittany's payback for her trick and a kind of welcome for Quinn, even though it wasn't planned for that. Instead, she knew that she was going to spend the night on edge, hoping that Kevin and Noah wouldn't argue. Neither of them were any fun when they lost their tempers.

When they reached the table where Brittany and Quinn were already waiting, Kevin pulled a chair out for her across from Quinn at one end, and then sat down next to her and across from Brittany.

Standing back up, Rachel slipped out of her coat. It was way too warm inside for the extra layer.

"You brought Kevin?" Quinn asked, casting a look in his direction.

Rachel nodded. "Sorry. Quinn, this is Kevin Nolan. Kevin, this is Quinn Fabray."

"I know," Kevin stated. "She's been friends with Brittany for years."

Rachel blushed. "Right. I knew that."

"Sure, you did, sweetheart," Kevin placated her before getting up and heading for the bar.

The instant he was gone, Quinn, who was watching him with an odd expression of distaste, leaned across the table.

"I have a bag of my old maternity clothing in my car for you. Since you're wearing another one of Puck's shirts, I'm guessing you still haven't bought any clothing."

Brittany snorted. "We keep trying, but she keeps saying that she's not a charity case. She doesn't understand that we all want to buy her stuff because we love her."

Someone suddenly slipped a hat on Rachel's head, cutting off her response. Glancing over, she saw Noah taking Kevin's abandoned seat.

"You forgot your hat," he said needlessly. "Hi, Britt, Quinn."

"Puck," Quinn greeted him before turning back to Rachel. "If people want to help you out, you should let them. They wouldn't volunteer if they didn't want to."

"My mom said that she was a pain while they were shopping," Puck contributed. "The whole reason they went shopping was to buy her some clothing that fit, but apparently Berry here was difficult."

"I was not," Rachel protested.

Noah reached over and pulled her winter hat down so that it covered her face and mouth.

"You were, too. You owe my mom another shopping trip."

Yanking the hat off and dropping it to her lap, she glared at him, but before she could retort, Kevin was standing behind Noah.

"You're in my seat."

Noah gazed up at him insolently.

"I don't see your name on it."

"It's next to Rachel, and she's mine, so that should be good enough."

The feminist in Rachel bristled at the way Kevin claimed her as if she was his favorite toy. That tiny rebellious part of her was what made her move her hand under the table and grip Noah's thigh so that he would stay put. It was one thing for Kevin to point out her flaws, but it was another entirely for him to treat her like an inanimate object. She did not appreciate it.

Noah's thigh had tensed under her grip, but he sounded completely cool when he said, "I don't see your name on her either, so I'm not going anywhere."

Rachel expected Kevin to figure out a way to make Noah move; he seemed like someone who wouldn't stop at anything to get what he wanted. However, Noah's sprawled pose and bull-headed expression were apparently enough to make Kevin leave him alone. Looking furious, he took the seat next to Brittany and farthest from Rachel. When he glared at both Noah and herself while nursing his beer, Rachel's stomach knotted.

She had a feeling that she would hear about this on the drive home.

ooooo

When Berry's hand landed on his thigh, Noah immediately sprang to attention. There was no way to stop it when the girl who'd given him the best sex he'd ever had was touching him so close to his dick. When she squeezed, he tensed up. Through the fog of lust, he realized that she didn't want him to give up his seat.

Once her douchebag boyfriend had taken one of the other seats, Puck allowed himself a mental fist pump. Casting a sardonic smirk at the other man, because Berry had chosen him, he turned back to the girls' conversation. It served the bastard right anyway. How fucking moronic did he have to be to act like he owned Berry? Well, his stupidity was Puck's gain.

"I'm grabbing drinks," Quinn announced. "What does everyone want?"

"I can go," Puck volunteered.

He didn't particularly like the idea of losing his seat to Kevin, but his mom would kill him if he didn't offer to get the girls' drinks. Since he knew that she felt like she'd screwed up in raising him because of his track record, Puck was trying to practice all of the rusty manners that she'd taught him. Plus, he didn't want people to think his daughter was a little monster, so he figured he could at least try to clean up his act before she could imitate him (not that he wasn't sure Berry would teach her how to behave).

"No," Quinn denied quickly. "I'll get them."

Puck quirked an eyebrow at her fervent response, and she arched an eyebrow in return, looking every bit the bitchy ex-cheerleader.

"Well, then I want a Coke," Puck said.

After the other two told Quinn their orders, the blonde left. Puck shook his head slightly. He never thought he'd see the day when the privileged Quinn would volunteer to basically serve others.

Brittany turned around in her seat and addressed the table behind them with a bright smile.

"Can we have the song book once you're done with it?"

One of the men, practically drooling over her, handed over the book instantly. Puck snickered at how easily she'd charmed the guys.

"I want to sing something fun," Brittany declared, flipping the leather-bound book open.

"Like what?" Berry asked, leaning forward to look at the song list.

While they debated songs, Puck took stock of Berry's body. For once, he wasn't checking her out; he wanted to see how she was doing with the bastard nearby. Her posture was much looser than earlier that day, and she was smiling and talking with Brittany, and Quinn once she returned, easily enough. The others probably didn't suspect that she was tense at all.

Only Puck knew differently because Berry still had his thigh in a death grip, as if she was terrified he would leave.

"What are you going to sing, Berry?" he asked, hoping to relax her.

She grinned at him, "Oh, well, I actually had an idea for that..."

"I don't think you should draw attention to your condition by singing," Kevin spoke up.

Berry's face fell.

"But I want to sing," she asserted quietly.

Kevin scowled.

"Just because you want to do something doesn't mean you should. I want to have sex with the station's dispatcher, but that doesn't mean I'm going to. I know that would be disrespectful to you."

Puck was watching Berry's face, so he saw when tears welled up in her big brown eyes. Clenching his fists under the table, Puck knew that he couldn't simply let that lie. Nobody made his Berry cry.

"Yeah, but where you cheating on Berry would make you even more of an asshole, her singing is fucking awesome," he snapped angrily.

The two glared at each other until Berry's grip on his leg tightened so painfully that he looked down at her.

"It's okay, Noah," she whispered, wiping a tear away. "I know how uncomfortable Kevin is with my pregnancy. He's never been secretive about that."

He didn't like that, not in the least. Berry was changing everything about who she was just to hold onto a bastard who wasn't even worthy of licking her snow boots. Ignoring the other three people at the table, he focused exclusively on his baby mama. He spoke quietly so that the blonde douche couldn't hear him.

"You love to sing, Berry. You didn't want to sing the last time we were here, but you did anyway. And you loved it."

Blushing, she started to shake her head, but he cut her off.

"Don't even fucking deny it. You love to sing, so you should sing. That ass may be your boyfriend, but that doesn't mean that he has any fucking say on what you do."

Berry was clearly thinking over his words, and when her tears dried and her jaw set, he knew that he had gotten through to her.

"You're right. I love performing in front of crowds, so why shouldn't I? It's hardly on the same scale as cheating."

Puck watched happily as Berry turned back to the song list, muttering different titles to herself as she flipped the pages. Feeling like someone was watching him, Puck looked across the table. Brittany had a troubled expression on her face, but she smiled briefly when she met his eyes. The thoughtful look on Quinn's face as she watched him disturbed Puck on many levels, though.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

She gave him an alarming grin and joined Berry and Brittany without answering. Feeling the need to gloat, Puck glanced over at Kevin. The jerk looked like he wanted nothing more than to leap across the table at him. Puck made sure that Berry wasn't watching.

She was completely absorbed in the song list, so Puck raised his middle finger at her jackass boyfriend with a satisfied smirk.

ooooo

Rachel was scanning through the songs available. This had to be the oddest song selection that any karaoke vendor anywhere possessed. Mixed in with the expected hit songs were other less known songs. Rachel was quite impressed; it seemed like no matter what someone wanted to say, there was something in the book that would say it.

As she had perused the list, she had made a mental list of possibilities. Both hits and non-hits had made it onto her list, but she hadn't found anything that really struck her yet. Brittany and Quinn had made a few suggestions, and while Rachel had acknowledged them, she had only noted a couple of them as true possibilities.

A movement caught her attention so she looked up. Much to her surprise, she saw that Noah was flipping off Kevin. She felt like she should scold him for that behavior, but she couldn't bring herself to care. It wasn't like he and Kevin were ever going to get along. Besides, she was angry at Kevin for his sexist comment earlier and the way he'd tried to keep her from singing. He had also really crossed a line by comparing her singing to cheating. Yes, she was pregnant with another man's child, but she hadn't even met Kevin yet when she had slept with Noah. Why couldn't he see that?

Sighing, she refocused on the song book and flipped another page. Scanning down the list of songs, her eyes caught on one in particular.

"I'm going to sing this one," she announced to the girls, tapping the song with her finger.

Quinn's brow furrowed when she read the title.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Rachel nodded. "Absolutely."

"I don't recognize it," Brittany complained. "What's it about?"

While Quinn quietly explained the song, Rachel hurried to the front of the room to sign up. There were a few names ahead of her, so she headed back to her seat to wait.

The song was the perfect expression of her feelings since last night.

ooooo

Spending the night listening to a bunch of girls talking wasn't as awful as Puck thought it would be. He had been sure that it would be boring; the only reason he had agreed to come was because Berry had asked him to, and after meeting her boyfriend, he felt like someone needed to keep an eye on the jackass. He didn't expect to actually laugh at the girls, but they were fucking funny. Britt's stories about work and Quinn's about college were hilarious and had provided him with more blackmail material than he'd ever had on any of them. They were also paying attention to Berry for more than just the baby, and he liked to see that.

Best of all, Berry was giving her douche boyfriend, who was steadily working his way through beer after beer, the cold shoulder. It looked like he'd pissed her off royally, so Puck held out hope that she would ditch the bastard before the night ended.

"Next up is Rachel Berry."

Berry practically leaped out of her seat at the sound of her name. Puck turned his chair around so that he could watch her. If there was one sight he would never grow tired of (that wasn't related to boobs), it was watching Berry sing. It didn't seem to matter what song she chose, she always killed it.

When she reached the front of the room, she took the microphone from the emcee. The bar lights caught the strands of gold in her slightly messy hair and he realized for the first time that she was wearing the old Van Halen T-shirt that his father had left behind. She looked fucking hot in it, if a little weird. She didn't exactly seem like someone who would like Van Halen (or, you know, know who they are).

When the music started, he focused on it. He frowned when he didn't recognize the opening of the song. Berry looked really intent though, so he decided to actually pay attention to the words. She had probably picked another song that meant something to her like last time, but if it was a fucking love song to her bastard douche boyfriend, he would have to go home (and possibly punch pretty boy right in the mouth).  
_  
Life is a carousel  
And dancing 'round the mirrors  
We go up and down  
So let the music take away the hurt  
You've come to  
Know so well  
Let it go 'cause_

Puck let Berry's voice wash over him. So far, it didn't sound like a love song to the cop.

_You can't turn back the hands of time  
Just let it go and you'll be fine  
What's done is done and it's alright  
You can't turn back the hands of time_

As Puck registered the words to the chorus, he sat up a little straighter and scanned Berry's face. Was she singing to him?

_Another day is gone  
Washed away with sorrows  
That you dwelt upon  
And as the moon is rising  
You think to yourself  
I could be gone  
If I go now_

Her voice was beautiful as always, but Puck was focused on Berry's face. She had her eyes closed, so he couldn't fucking tell if she was singing to him. The song felt like it had an 'I forgive you' message, so maybe...

_You can't turn back the hands of time  
Just let it go and you'll be fine  
What's done is done and it's alright  
You can't turn back the hands of time_

Berry finally opened her eyes, and through the dark room, she searched him out. When her eyes met his, she smiled at him and went into the bridge.

_Nah nah nah nah  
Nah nah nah nah  
Nah nah nah nah_

Nah nah nah nah  
Nah nah nah nah  
Nah nah nah nah  
  
Moving into the final refrains of the chorus, Berry really threw herself into the song the way she always did when she was really feeling her words.

_You can't turn back the hands of time  
Just let it go and you'll be fine, yeah  
What's done is done and it's alright  
You can't turn back the hands of time  
Da da da da da_

You can't turn back the hands of time  
Just let it go and you'll be fine  
What's done is done and it's alright  
You can't turn back the hands of time

The final notes of the song had a creepy feeling to them, but he ignored that. While the crowd went wild, he actually processed what had just happened. Berry had sang to him, even though her boyfriend was there. Sure, it wasn't exactly a romantic song (not that he wanted one from her), but it was much fucking better. She had basically just forgiven him, not only for the fight that she had forgiven him for the previous night, but for all of his behavior since she got pregnant. It was the ultimate sign that she'd given him a full chance, and he sure as hell didn't plan on blowing it.

When Berry sat back down at the table, Brittany and Quinn complimented her performance. Once they were done, she turned to him, a hopeful expression on her face.

"I loved it, babe," he praised her without prompting.

Her smile was blinding.

"Thank you. You understood it, right?"

Unable to resist, he brushed her hair back from her eager face.

"Fuck, yeah. Fresh start?"

She nodded and answered, "I would like that very much."

When Berry smiled at him again, he felt something that he'd never felt before.

The only problem was that he didn't know what the fuck it was.

ooooo

Rachel was so excited at the prospect of a fresh start to her relationship with Noah that she forgot that her boyfriend was sitting right there. She snapped back to awareness when he loudly scraped his chair back.

"We're leaving, Rachel," he commanded.

"I don't..." she started, but he ignored her.

"Now."

He was clearly in a high temper and pretty tipsy, so Rachel popped out of her chair as fast as she could. She needed to get his keys before he got behind the wheel. Aside from the obvious dangers, he was a cop; it would ruin his life if he got caught driving drunk.

"So sorry, but I have to drive him home," she apologized, quickly pulling her coat on. "I'll see you at home, Brittany. And you tomorrow, right, Quinn?"

"I'm not gonna wait for you, Rachel!" Kevin yelled from the exit.

Rachel jumped at his tone and scurried after him.

ooooo

As Puck watched Berry hurry after the drunk, he wanted to go after her. He fucking hated the idea of her getting into a car with that ass even if she was the one behind the wheel. The bastard was already emotionally abusive; how long would it take for that to turn physical? And his baby...if Kevin hit Berry, what would happen to his daughter?

Brittany mumbled something at him, breaking him away from his worries.

"What?" he asked.

"I said stop her," she reiterated. "Don't let her get in that car with him; Kevin's really mean when he's drunk."

Puck stood up and hesitated just a moment. Would Berry hate him again if he interfered?

"Go!" the two blondes yelled.

That was all the encouragement he needed. He ran through the bowling alley and into the parking lot. Once there, he stopped in shock at the sight of the arguing couple.

"Please, Kevin, give me your keys. You're too drunk to drive," Rachel pleaded loudly enough for Puck to hear her in spite of the distance.

"No!" Kevin yelled. "I'm fine. Get in; I'm taking you home."

"I won't," she denied, backing away from him. "It's not safe."

Puck could feel the presence of two people near him and knew that Quinn and Brittany had joined him, and then one of them was gone.

"You are my girlfriend, so you will get your ass in that car," Kevin demanded forcefully. "Now!"

The instant the cop reached for her, Puck started running. His only thought was to get to his girl and their baby before he lost everything.

ooooo

"Let go!" Rachel shrieked.

Kevin had grabbed her wrist painfully. She twisted her arm like she was shown in the self-defense course she had taken the previous spring, but his grip was too tight. He started to drag her along behind him toward the car, so Rachel did her best to dig her heels into the ground to slow him down. She was terrified of what would happen if he pushed her into the car. She hadn't known he would be such a mean drunk, although part of her was starting to see that she should have from the way he had treated her all along.

She put a hand on his back and pushed while twisting her arm again. This time it worked, but she had pulled too hard. Gravity, working against her, meant that she was careening toward the ground with no way to stop herself. She just knew that this was it; this would be the moment that she lost her baby.

And then there was a pair of strong arms around her and she was staring up into a pair of brilliant hazel eyes.

"Noah?" she asked, dazed.

"Stop right there!" an unfamiliar male voice yelled.

The slap of running feet on pavement filled the air, but Rachel wasn't paying attention to that. Noah righted her so that she was standing steady again. As she realized that she and her baby were okay, she started to tremble uncontrollably. Taking a deep breath and moving away from Noah, she shoved that fear deep down where she wouldn't have to deal with it. Because she couldn't - not right now.

She jumped when a different body barreled into her, but this time it was just Brittany who had her in a tight hug.

"I was so scared," her roommate stated in a frightened voice, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Excuse me, miss," a voice said behind her.

Pulling away from Brittany, Rachel faced the uniformed police officer speaking.

"I'm Officer Carlson. I need you to come down to the station so that I can take a statement about what happened here tonight if you want to press charges for assault," he explained.

"I don't know..." Rachel began.

"She'll be there," Quinn interrupted.

"Okay, I'll be waiting."

When he walked toward his car, where Rachel could see a second officer waiting and Kevin in the back section, she frowned at Quinn

"How did he get here?"

"This block has a police officer assigned to it every night because of all the bars. We just got lucky that he pulled into the parking lot while you and Kevin were fighting," Quinn clarified.

"I don't know that I want to press charges," Rachel said uncertainly. "He didn't really hurt me, and he was very drunk."

"Fuck no!" Noah exploded. "If I hadn't been here, you would have fallen and you could have lost the baby. You're pressing charges so that bastard can't do this again."

Rachel's temper immediately rose at being told what to do, but when she went to yell at Noah, the expression on his face killed her words. He wasn't angry, not really; he was horrified.

"Okay," she agreed softly.

"I'll take you," Brittany volunteered.

"I'm going, too," Noah declared.

It was a testament to the seriousness of the night's events that Brittany immediately handed over her keys.

ooooo

Brittany felt like her innocence had died. She knew that her brother was mean when he was drunk, but she had never thought that he would hurt Rachel, just say more mean things. It made her wonder if Puck had been right all along. Was Kevin abusing Rachel before he ever touched her tonight?

Reaching across the back seat, she curled her hand around Rachel's.

She was very confused, but she was also very happy that her friend was okay.

Watching the passing scenery, she sadly realized that she would have to take Kevin out of her letter to Santa.

A/N 2: First of all, let me apologize for what I realize was a really bleak chapter, but it had to happen. I bet you guys weren't expecting the dissolution of Kevin/Rachel in this chapter because of my first A/N, but here you go. I know it's not the death that you all wanted or the beating that you wanted Puck to bestow upon Kevin, but I think this is pretty appropriate. It keeps Puck out of jail, and doesn't run the risk of fond memories for Rachel the way that Kevin suddenly dying in an accident or on the job would have. Plus, I wanted Rachel to have a chance to stand up for herself, which neither of those things would have done. Oh, and bonus, Ohio assault law also protects unborn children. So, hopefully you're all okay with the resolution to the Kevin/Rachel relationship, although there will of course be fallout from it in the future. The song was 'Hands of Time' by Rachel Diggs. Again, let me know what you think.


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